n 

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~ V V"  . 

STATE  OF  TENNESSEE 

U.  S.  DEPT.  OF  THE  INTERIOR 

STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

U.  S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

GEO.  H.  ASHLEY, 

GEORGE  OTIS  SMITA, 

STATE  GEOLOGIST 

DIRECTOR 

Bulletin  9 

(of  Tennessee  Geological  Survey  Series) 

Preliminary  Report  of  the  Coal  Resources 
of  the  Pikeville  Special  Quadrangle 
of  Eastern  Tennessee, 


By  W.  C.  PHALEN, 

Assistant  Geologist,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION 

BY  GEO.  H.  ASHLEY. 


NASHVILLE 

WILLIAMS  PRINTING  COMPANY 
1911 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


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Plate  AI. 


SKETCH  MAP 

OF 

“Tennessee  Coal  Field 


SHOWING  P05ITI0N 

PIKEVILLE  (.Special) 


QUADRANGLE 


Tennebsee  Coal  Field. 

Pi keville CSpecial)  Quadrangle. 
Scale.-. 

0 5 )0  1 5 20  25  30  Miles- 


STATE  OF  TENNESSEE 
STATE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

GEO.  H.  ASHLEY, 

STATE  GEOLOGIST 


U.  S.  DEFT.  OF  THE  INTERIOR 
U.  S.  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

GEORGE  OTIS  SMITA, 
DIRECTOR 


Bulletin  i) 

(of  Tennessee  Geological  Survey  Series) 


Preliminary  Report  of  the  Coal  Resources 
of  the  Pikeville  Special  Quadrangle 
of  Eastern  Teimesjj^ 


By  W.  C.  PHALEN,  JUL  24  1919 

Assistant  Geologist,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey, 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION 

BY  GEO.  H.  ASHLEY. 


NASHVILLE 

WILLIAMS  PRINTING  COMPANY 

1911 


State  Geological  Commission 


GOVERNOR  BEN  W.  HOOPER,  Chairman. 

DR.  BROWN  AYRES,  Secretary, 
President  University  of  Tennessee. 

CAPTAIN  TOM  F.  PECK, 
Commissioner  of  Agriculture. 


PROF.  J.  H.  KIRKLAND, 
Chancellor  Vanderbilt  University. 


PROF.  WM.  B.  HALL, 

Vice  Chancellor  University  of  the  South. 

GEORGE  E.  SYLVESTER, 

Chief  Mine  Inspector. 


GEORGE  H.  ASHLEY, 

State  Geologist. 


CONTENTS 


Letter  of  Transmittal  

Introductory  Statement,  by  Geo.  H.  Ashley 

Pag0 

Age  of  the  Coal-bearing  Rocks 9 Structure 

Stratigraphy  10  Coals  of  Tennessee  Field 

Coal  Resources  of  the  Pikeville  Area,  by  Wm.  C.  Phalen 


Page 
. . . 7 
. . . 8 

. . .19 
. . .21 
. . .23 


Introductory  statement  23 

Location  .23 

Commercial  geography  23 

General  geology  of  the  quadrangle. 25 

Coal-bearing  formations  28 

Tabie  of  coal-bearing  forma- 
tions   28 

Pennington  shale  29 

Lookout  formation  29 

Walden  formation  29 

Structure  30 

Exposures  and  accessibility  of 

the  coals  31 

Coals  of  the  quadrangle 32 

Method  of  sampling  32 

Chemistry  and  uses  32 

Analyses  of  coals  from  quad- 
rangle   34 

Comparison  with  coals  in  oth- 
er States  38 

Comparison  with  other  Ten- 
nessee coals  42 

Local  geology  of  the  coals 45 

East  side  of  Walden  Ridge 45 

Coal  in  Pennington  shale 45 

^ Coals  in  the  Lookout  forma- 
tion   /G 

Goodrich  bed  4 G 

Nelson  bed  47 

“Angel”  bed  47 


Coal  in  the  Walden  formation.  .51 

Richland  (Soddy)  bed 51 

Coal  beds  above  the  Rich- 
land coal  52 

Morgan  Springs  bed 53 

West  side  of  Walden  Ridge 54 


Coal  bed  120  feet  below  the 
lower  conglomerate  member. 54 
Coal  bed  80-100  feet  below  the 
lower  conglomerate  member. 55 
Coal  at  base  at  lower  conglomer- 


ate member  5g 

Richland  (?)  bed 50 

Coals  above  Richland  bed 57 

General  mining  conditions  in 

Walden  Ridge  57 

Cumberland  Plateau  58 

Geology  53 

Coal  in  the  Pennington 58 

Coal  beds  in  Lookout  forma- 
tion   59 

Basal  Lookout  coals  59 

“Angel”  bed  GO 

Coal  beds  in  the  Walden  form- 

tion  G1 

Sewanee  coal  65 

Sewanee  coal  west  and 

north  of  quadrangle 65 

Next  higher  bed  67 

Higher  beds  67 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Plate  A-I — Sketch  Map  of  Coal  Fields  of  Tennessee Frontispiece 

Page 

Plate  A-II — Columnar  Sections  from  North  to  South,  Along  West  Edge  of 

Coal  Fields  12 

Plate  A-III — Columnar  Sections  from  South  to  North,  along  East  Edge  of 

Coal  Fields  13 

Plate  A-IV — Section  with  Coals  of  Post-Lee  Age 17 

Plate  I — Map  of  Coal  Outcrops  on  Pikeville  (Special)  Quadrangle. ..  .In  Pocket 

Plate  II — Columnar  Sections  on  Walden  Ridge 26 

Plate  Ha — Columnar  Sections  on  Cumberland  Plateau 27 

Fig.  1 — Section  of  Coal  in  (Pennington)*  Shale 46 


*Work  since  Mr.  Phalen’s  paper  went  to  press  suggests  the  possibility  of  this 
coal  being  in  the  basal  portion  of  the  Pottsville,  the  reddish  shales  with  which 
it  is  associated  deriving  their  color  from  the  contained,  reworked,  red  Pen- 


nington shales. 

Fig.  2 — Sections  of  Goodrich  Coal,  Vicinity  of  Dayton 47 

Fig.  3 — Sections  of  Nelson  Coal,  Near  Dayton 49 

Fig.  4 — Sections  of  Richland  Coal,  Near  Dayton 52 

Fig.  5 — Section  of  Morgan  Springs  Coal,  Near  Morgan  Springs 53 

Fig.  6 — Coals  in  Lookout  Formation,  West  Side  of  Walden  Ridge,  and  East 

of  Pikeville,  Tenn 55 

Fig.  7 — Coal  in  Base  of  Lookout  Formation,  west  of  Pikeville 60 

Fig.  8 — Section  of  Angel  Coal  Bed,  Cumberland  Plateau 61 

Fig.  9 — Section  of  Main  Sewanee  Coal 63 

Fig.  10 — Section  of  Sewanee  Coal  northwest  and  west  of  Quadrangle 66 

Fig.  11 — Section  of  Morgan  Springs  Coal  in  Cumberland  Plateau 67 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


United  States  Geological  Survey. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  May  27,  1911. 
Dr.  Geo.  H.  Ashley , State  Geologist , 

Nashville , Tenn. 

Dear  Sir:  Herewith  I transmit  to  you  the  manuscript  and  drawings 

for  a “Preliminary  Report  on  the  Coal  Resources  of  the  Pikeville  Special 
Quadrangle  in  Eastern  Tennessee,”  by  W.  C.  Phalen,  Assistant  Geologist. 

This  report  is  based  upon  the  examination  made  during  the  last  field 
season  in  the  Pikeville  Special  Quadrangle,  and  is  transmitted  for  publi- 
cation by  the  Geological  Survey  of  Tennessee,  in  accordance  with  the 
terms  of  the  co-operative  agreement. 

Very  respectfully, 

(Signed)  George  Otis  Smith, 

Director. 


8 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


Introductory  Statement 

ON 

THE  RELATION  OF  THE  PIKEVILLE  SPECIAL  QUADRANGLE 
TO  THE  COAL  FIELD  OF  TENNESSEE  AS  A WHOLE* 


BY  GEORGE  H.  ASHLEY. 


In  view  of  the  fact  that  Mr.  Phalen’s  paper  does  not  describe  the  rela- 
tions of  the  Pikeville  Special  quadrangle  to  the  coal  field  of  Tennessee  as 
a whole,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  present  Survey  has  not  published 
any  description  of  the  coal  field  in  the  State  as  a whole,  it  seems  wise  to 
preface  Mr.  Phalen’s  paper  with  a brief  description  of  the  coals  of  the 
State,  and  a map  showing  the  position  of  the  special  area  studied  by  him. 

The  coal  field  of  Tennessee  is  a part  of  the  great  Appalachian  field, 
extending  from  northern  Pennsylvania  to  central  Alabama.  In  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  State  are  found  the  same  beds  as  in  Kentucky,  and  in  the 
southern  part  the  same  beds  as  in  Alabama  and  Georgia.  The  coals  have 
the  same  general  character  as  those  of  eastern  Kentucky,  western  West 
Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  though  not  the  qualities  of  Pocahontas  coal 
of  Virginia  and  West  Virginia,  nor  of  the  Clearfield  coal  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  coal  field  of  Tennessee  is  coincident  with  the  Cumberland  Plateau, 
lying  in  a northeast  and  southwest  direction  across  the  State,  a little  east 
of  the  center.  The  field  has  an  average  width  of  from  35  to  50  miles. 
It  covers  practically  all  of  Morgan,  Scott,  Cumberland,  Sequatchie,  Bled- 
soe and  Marion  counties ; the  western  part  of  Claiborne,  Campbell,  Ander- 
son, Roane,  Rhea  and  Hamilton  counties;  nearly  all  of  Fentress,  Van 
Buren  and  Grundy  counties,  and  a part  of  the  eastern  side  of  Pickett, 
Overton,  Putnam,  White,  Warren,  Coffee  and  Franklin  counties. 

The  Cumberland  Plateau,  which  contains  the  coal  field  of  Tennessee, 
is  a broad  upland,  standing  about  2,000  feet  above  the  sea  level.  While 
many  of  the  streams  flowing  out  to  the  east  and  west  or  to  the  south  have 
cut  ravines  into  this  upland,  still,  as  a rule,  the  ravines  occupy  but  a nar- 
row part  of  the  area  in  contrast  with  the  broad  upland,  which,  in  many 
places  is  nearly  flat,  and  in  many  others  only  slightly  rolling.  As  a result 
of  this  condition,  the  coals  have  been  rendered  accessible  at  a large  number 
of  points,  at  the  same  time,  they  have  been  broadly  protected,  so  that  in 
many  cases  almost  as  large  an  area  of  beds  remain  as  though  they  were 
entirely  below  drainage.  In  the  northeastern  part  of  the  coal  field  are 

*This  introductory  paper  is  published  as  part  of  Bulletin  9,  of  the  regular  se- 
ries, and  as  a separate  paper  in  Vol.  1,  No.  5,  of  the  monthly  magazine,  “The 
Resources  of  Tennessee.” 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


9 


many  hills  and  mountains  that  rise  from  several  hundred  to  a thousand 
feet  or  more  above  the  general  level  of  the  plateau.  These  hills  retain 
the  higher  coals  that  have  been  entirely  removed  from  the  rest  of  the 
field.  They  are  remhants  of  the  lands  which  were  reduced  to  the  general 
level  at  the  time  that  the  level  of  the  plateau  was  established.  But  while 
containing  these  higher  coals,  as  a rule,  these  higher  mountains  are  often 
narrow  topped,  divides  or  ridges,  so  that  the  areas  of  coal  they  contain 
are  relatively  not  as  broad  as  of  those  under  the  plateau  proper.  Fortu- 
nately massive  sandstones  at  various  elevations  tend  to  make  the  moun- 
tains broad  shouldered,  as  it  were,  protecting  larger  areas  of  the  high  coals 
than  in  the  corresponding  mountains  farther  northeast  where  the  sand- 
stones of  that  part  of  the  section  are  less  massive  and  resistant  and  the 
mountain  divides  are  much  narrower.  As  a rule,  the  level  surface  of  the 
plateau  has  been  maintained  through  the  existence  at  these  elevations  of 
massive  beds  of  sandstone,  Lest  it  be  thought  that  the  sandstone  has  alone 
been  responsible  for  the  general  flatness  of  the  plateau,  it  may  be  noted 
that  the  plateau  level  bevels  a number  of  massive  sandstones,  as  well  as  the 
intermediate  beds  of  less  resistant  shales  and  shaly  sandstones.  This  is 
well  seen  in  Walden  Ridge,  where  the  sandstone  that  protects  the  eastern 
edge  of  the  plateau  is  stratigraphically  500  to  700  feet  higher  than  the 
sandstone,  which  protects  the  western  edge  overlooking  the  Sequatchie 
Valley.  At  the  eastern  edge  of  the  plateau  there  is  a fairly  even  escarp- 
ment with  a precipitous  drop  of  about  1,000  feet.  At  the  western  edge, 
overlooking  the  basin  of  Middle  Tennessee,  there  is  a nearly  similar  drop, 
but  the  edge  of  the  escarpment  is  not  regular,  but  almost  dentritic  in  shape, 
extending  out  in  numerous  headlands,  that  inclose  deep  coves,  and  in  a 
few  cases  the  ends  of  these  headlands  have  been  cut  off  and  stand  out  as 
isolated  outlyers. 


The  Age  of  the  Coal-Bearing  Rocks. 

All  of  the  coal-bearing  rocks  of  the  Appalachian  field  are  of  Carbon- 
iferous age.  The  Carboniferous  in  turn  is  subdivided  into  Pennsyl- 
vanian or  upper  Carboniferous  and  Mississippian  or  Lower  Carbon- 
iferous. The  upper  beds  of  the  Lower  Carboniferous  are  slightly  coal- 
bearing in  Virginia,  and  to  a less  extent  in  Tennessee.  The  main  coal- 
bearing  rocks  of  the  Appalachian  field  are  all  of  the  Pennsylvanian  age. 
Again,  the  Pennsylvanian  may  be  divided  into  Pottsville  or  lower  Penn- 
sylvanian, and  post-Pottsville  or  upper  Pennsylvanian.  In  Pennsylvania, 
the  latter  includes  the  Allegheny,  Conemaugh  and  Monongahela,  the 
first  containing  the  Freeport  and  Kittanning  coals  and  the  latter  the  fa- 
mous Pittsburg  coal.  No  rocks  of  this  age  have  yet  been  found  in  Ten- 


10 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


nessee,  though  it  is  more  than  probable  that  rocks  of  at  least  the  lower  part 
of  the  upper  Pennsylvania  existed  in  this  State,  though  long  since  car- 
ried away  by  erosion,  unless  the  rocks  at  the  extreme  top  of  a few  of  the 
mountains  are  of  that  age.  The  coal  measures  of  Tennessee  then  con- 
tained only  the  lower  Pennsylvanian  or  Pottsville.  The  Pottsville  has  a 
thickness  of  1,200  feet  in  the  Anthracite  field  of  Pennsylvania.  In  west- 
ern Pennsylvania  land  conditions  existed  most  of  Pottsville  time,  and  no 
deposits  or  coals  were  laid  down  until  near  the  end  of  Pottsville  time. 
Then  the  Sharon,  Quakertown  and  Mercer  coals,  none  of  which  are  of 
any  great  importance  in  Pennsylvania,  were  laid  down.  Coming  south 
and  east  from  the  southwest  corner  of  Pennsylvania  the  Pottsville  thickens 
until  it  is  over  6,000  feet  thick  in  the  Coosa  field  of  Alabama. 

Stratigraphy. 

The  coal-bearing  rocks  of  Tennessee  consist  of  a series  of  sandstones; 
shales,  coal  beds  and  clay  beds.  The  coal  is  known  to  have  been  deposited 
at  over  fifty  horizons,  in  beds  ranging  from  a few  inches  to  8 or  9 feet  in 
thickness,  or  locally  to  20  to  30  feet,  or  in  one  case,  possibly  due  to 
squeezing,  over  100  feet  thick.  As  practically  all  of  the  coal  beds  are 
underlain  by  clay,  at  least  locally,  quite  as  many  clay  beds  are  found. 
The  shales  occur  in  beds  often  several  score  of  feet  thick.  They  are  usu- 
ally quite  sandy  and  in  places  grade  over  into  sandstones.  The  sand- 
stones are  the  rocks  commonly  seen.  While  many  of  them  are  soft,  and 
weather  rapidly,  many  of  the  beds  are  hard  and  resistant  and  project  out 
of  the  hill  slopes  as  massive  ledges  or  cliffs.  Such  sandstones  are  often 
100  feet  or  more  thick,  and  a few  of  them  make  prominent  cliffs  that  can 
be  traced  long  distances.  These  cliff-making  sandstones  serve  as  key- 
rocks,  and  the  position  of  any  coal  bed  is  described  as  so  many  feet  above 
or  below  the  top  or  bottom  of  a certain  sandstone. 

Considering  the  rocks  as  a whole,  these  cliff-making,  massive  sandstones 
predominate  in  the  lower  third  of  the  series.  They  occur  in  the  upper 
two  thirds,  but  are  usually  not  so  hard  nor  so  close  together.  They  are 
largely  responsible  for  the  flat  top  of  the  plateau  in  the  western  and  south- 
ern parts  of  the  coal  field.  In  the  northern  part  of  the  coal  field  this  lower 
third  of  the  series  has  been  called  the  Lee  conglomerate  or  the  Lee  forma- 
tion. As  only  a small  part  of  the  rocks  are  actually  conglomeratic,  and 
as  there  are  also  coals,  clays,  shales  and  non-conglomeratic  sandstones, 
the  latter  term  may  be  considered  the  better.  To  the  south  the  same  group 
of  rocks  have  been  known  as  the  Lookout  sandstone,  from  Lookout 
Mountain,  and  the  Walden  sandstone,  from  Walden  Ridge,  the  latter 
overlying  the  former.  It  was  formerly  thought  that  the  Lookout  sand- 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


11 


stone  at  the  south  corresponded  to  the  Lee  formation  at  the  north.  Mr. 
David  White,  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  has,  however,  determined 
that  the  Lookout  sandstone  or  formation  corresponds  to  the  lower  part 
•of  the  Lee  formation,  and  that  the  upper  part  of  the  Lee  includes  a part, 
of  the  Walden.  It  includes  all  of  the  Walden  as  described  in  the  Pike- 
ville,  Chattanooga  and  Sewanee  folios,  but  not  all  of  that  formation  as 
•described  in  the  Kingston  folio. 

This  conclusion  has  been  confirmed  by  the  detailed  stratigraphic  work 
now  in  progress  in  the  Pikeville-Crossville  area.  In  fact  the  close  tracing 
of  Mr.  Butts  has  recently  shown  (September  12)  that  the  Lookout  of  the 
southern  folios  is  entirely  unrepresented  in  the  northwest  part  of  the 
field,  that  part  of  the  field  having  been  a land  area,  during  Lookout  time, 
too  high  for  deposits  of  either  rocks  or  coals  to  have  been  lain  down. 
Among  other  things  the  tracing  has  shown  that  the  Bon  Air  sandstone 
;at  Bon  Air  is  not  the  top  sandstone  of  the  Lookout,  as  previously  as- 
sumed, but  a higher  sandstone  coming  in  the  Walden,  and  the  Bon  Air 
■coals  belong  stratigraphically  above  the  Sewanee  coals.  This  is  brought 
•out  in  the  plate  of  sections. 

On  account  of  their  value  as  key-rocks,  four  of  the  more  persistent  and 
prominent  cliff-making  sandstones  of  the  Walden  and  Lookout  have  been 
named.  These  are  from  the  top,  the  Rockcastle  sandstone  lentil,  named 
by  Campbell  from  the  exposure  on  the  Rockcastle  River  in  Kentucky; 
the  Bon  Air  sandstone,  named  from  the  exposure  at  Bon  Air  in  White 
County;  the  Sewanee  sandstone,  named  by  Safford  from  the  escarpment 
at  Sewanee;  and  the  Etna  sandstone,  named  from  the  exposure  at  the 
Etna  mines  in  Marion  County.  These  sandstones  are  commonly  or  lo- 
yally 100  feet  or  more  thick.  Their  relative  position  and  distance  apart 
.are  shown  in  Plates  A-II  and  A-III.  It  will  be  noted  that  there  is  con- 
siderable variation  in  the  intervals  and  in  the  rocks  occurring  in  those  in- 
tervals. It  will  be  noted,  too,  that  the  sandstones  are  not  of  the  same  im- 
portance in  different  parts  of  the  State. 

Between  and  underlying  these  sandstones  are  five  groups  of  less  re- 
■sistent  rocks,  in  which  are  the  coal  beds  with  which  Mr.  Phalen’s  report 
is  primarily  concerned.  These  four  groups  may  be  designated  from  the 
"bottom  up  as  the  Dade  coal  group,  from  its  containing  the  well  known 
Dade  coal  of  Alabama ; the  Battle  Creek  coal  group ; the  Sewanee  coal 
•group ; the  Bon  Air  coal  group,  and  the  “Lee  shale”  coal  group.  The 
■coals  of  these  groups  will  be  described  beyond. 

There  appears  to  be  a marked  thickening  of  the  basal  rocks  of  the  Lee 
in  going  from  the  northwest  to  the  southeast,  as  though  the  rocks  were 
being  deposited  where  the  eastern  edge  of  Walden  Ridge  now  is,  some- 
time before  deposition  began  where  is  now  the  west  face  of  the  plateau. 


12 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD 


Plate  All. 

M End  J.  _nd 
Standing  Stone  Quad. 

(Campbell ) 


5J5  o>, 

r° 

50' 

■too' 

■/JO' 

-200' 

-150' 

^300' 


Pockc  astle, 
sandstone 

Bon  Air 
(Drilling) 


Pikei/ille  Victoria  Mi  nes 

(Ph  ale  n ) ( Haw  jb ) 


Caney  ftrk  Tr  acyCity 

Qdjfcrd  ) ( J c7 jjo rd  )' 


Bon  R\r_ 
sand-  I': 
itocQ  -■< 


C 3 
C 3,7" 
C / 

\ . 


Cz"-P 


sandstone 

■ \ 

\ 

1 


CJ' 


\ 


??\ 

Altna 

^6  \ 

Sana  Stpne 

\\ 

\\ 

%\ 


C 6 

■7 


^HC 


Dior  th  of 
J Pittsburg 
(Sd)forcl) 


H 


C3-7' 

C3'-7' 

_ 

P-'L_ 

c 

Sr 

C6-/ 


C6V<T 


C/-3' 


cA 


po^' 


C/2*‘ 


C 6" 


’Sewcinee  Coal 

C 


c 8 


C9‘ 


tir 


i?c6V 


C/-4 


Columnar  Sections  from  North  to  South  along  West  Edge  of  Coal  Field. 


Plate  AIII 


rdysvi  lie  Dayton 
(Hayes) ' (Pha/en ) 


/^PocA  wCOg/  lafo/lette  Cum  her  land  (jap  BigStone  Gap 
(General,  ted)  A/hute)  (A  sh  ley)  (Campbell) 


Columa  ar  Sections  from  South  to  North  along  East  Edge  of  Coal  Field. 


14 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


This  shows  in  the  greater  thickness  of  the  rocks  below  the  Rockcastle 
sandstone,  or  down  to  the  underlying  limestones  of  the  Lower  Carbon- 
iferous rocks.  Apparently  some  of  the  higher  formations  have  also- 
thinned  in  going  to  the  west. 

As  partially  brought  out  by  the  plate  of  sections,  just  north  of  the  State 
line  the  Rockcastle  sandstone  lies  directly  on  the  Pennington  shales  and 
limestones  of  Lower  Carboniferous  age.  Coming  southwest,  along  the 
west  edge  of  the  field-,  shales  gradually  appear  below  the  sandstones.  These 
shales  contain  some  sandstones,  and  in  the  latitude  of  the  Tennessee  Cen- 
tral Railroad  one  of  these,  about  125  feet  below  the  base  of  the  Rock- 
castle, becomes  thick  and  massive  and  continues  so  well  across  the  field 
to  the  south.  Along  the  Tennessee  Central  Railroad  this  sandstone  lies 
on  the  Pennington.  Farther  south  shales  and  coals  appear  below  it.  The 
coals  are  worked  extensively  at  Bon  Air.  Going  east  or  south  another 
conglomeratic  sandstone  appears  below  the  coais  at  Bon  Air,  which  con- 
tinues as  a massive  sandstone  (the  Sewanee)  to  the  south  line  of  the  State. 
It  is  the  sandstone  that  caps  Lookout  Mountain,  and  forms  the  cap  rock 
of  the  Lookout  formation.  Farther  south  another  thick  massive  sand- 
stone appears  beneath  the  Sewanee.  This  was  called  by  Safford  the 
“Cliff”  sandstone,  as  it  makes  the  great  cliff  all  around  the  southwest  part 
of  the  field.  Continuing  south  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  old  basin, 
sandstones,  shales,  and  coals  continue  to  appear  at  the  bottom  of  the  sec- 
tion until  at  the  south  edge  of  the  State,  there  are  over  900  feet  of  sand- 
stones, shales  and  coals  below  the  top  of  the  Bon  Air  sandstone. 

The  same  increase  in  the  number  and  thickness  of  the  beds  at  the  bot- 
tom that  is  seen  in  going  from  the  northwest  corner  of  the  field  to  the 
south  edge,  would  be  found  anywhere  in  going  from  any  point  on  the 
northwest  edge  of  the  field  in  a southeast  direction  or  toward  the  center 
of  the  old  basin,  only  the  increase  would  be  more  rapid  in  that  direction. 

The  Post-Lee  part  of  the  coal-bearing  series  of  rocks  is  confined  al- 
most entirely  to  the  part  of  the  coal  field  east  of  the  Queen  and  Crescent 
Railroad.  The  lower  edge  of  that  series  laps  over  that  railroad  at  the  base 
a little  and  extends  for  a distance  southwestward  along  the  crest  of  Wal- 
den Ridge  back  of  Rockwood.  This  Post-Lee  series  has  a thickness  of 
about  2,500  feet.  For  convenience  it  has  been  divided  into  a number  of 
formations.  In  the  Briceville-Wartburg  area,*  Mr.  Keith  divided  the 
rocks  up  into  four  formations,  designated  from  the  bottom  up  as  the 
Briceville  shale,  the  Wartburg  sandstone,  the  Scott  shale  and  An- 
derson sandstone.  For  several  hundred  feet  up  from  the  base  of 
these  upper  series,  the  rocks  are  predominatingly  shale,  though  some  sand- 

*Arthur  Keith,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Geological  Atlas  of  the  United  States, 
Briceville  and  Wartsburg  Folios,  numbers  33  and  40. 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


15- 


stones  of  good  thickness  and  hardness  occur.  These  rocks  have  a thick- 
ness of  650  feet  and  have  been  designated  the  Briceville  shale,  from  their 
occurrence  at  Briceville.  They  contain  some  of  the  most  important  coal 
beds  of  the  region. 

Slightly  in  contrast  with  this  first  650  feet,  the  next  500  to  650  feet  is- 
more  sandy,  possibly  half  of  the  interval  being  sandstone.  Some  of  the 
sandstones  are  rather  prominent,  as  many  of  them  are  pure  and  resistant 
and  tend  to  make  cliffs  on  weathering.  This  part  of  the  series  has  been 
designated  Wartburg  sandstone.  It  contains  a number  of  coal  beds,  sev- 
eral of  which  are  of  workable  thickness. 

The  next  450  to  600  feet  of  rocks  are  somewhat  more  shaly,  and  have 
been  called  the  Scott  shale  from  Scott  County.  Some  of  the  sandstones, 
weather  out  into  cliffs,  but  on  the  whole  there  are  fewer  sandstones,  and 
they  are  not  so  prominent.  Two  important  coal  beds  appear  near  the  top. 
The  other  coals  are  thin. 

The  uppermost  650  feet  to  the  top  of  the  mountains  contains  some  rather 
massive  and  persistent  sandstone  beds  that,  in  many  places,  make  cliffs 
encircling  the  crest  of  the  hills.  This  group  of  rocks  has  been  called  the 
Anderson  sandstone.  Considering  the  various  types  of  rocks  found  in 
each  of  these, formations,  it  would  be  probably  better  to  use  the  term  for- 
mations rather  than  sandstone  and  shale,  so  that  in  this  report  it  will  be 
called  the  Briceville  formation,  rather  than  the  Briceville  shale,  etc. 

In  the  Middlesboro  area  between  the  Pine  and  Cumberland  mountains, 
Messrs.  Ashley  and  Glenn*  divided  the  rocks  into  a series  of  formations. 
The  sandstones  giving  prominence  to  the  Wartburg  sandstone  or  forma- 
tion farther  south  did  not  appear  in  the  Middlesboro  area  to  be  more  prom- 
inent than  others  above  or  below,  and  as  the  rocks  were  not  traced  through 
to  the  Briceville  area,  uncertainty  existed  as  to  which  of  the  prominent 
sandstones  of  the  Log  Mountains  corresponded  to  the  sandstone  beds  at 
the  top  and  bottom  of  the  Wartburg  formation. 

The  lowest  formation  was  called  the  Hance.  It  extends  from  the  base 
of  the  Post-Lee  series  to  the  Bennet  Fork  coal  of  the  Middlesboro  district. 
It  is  largely  shale,  though  it  contains  one  or  two  cliff-making  sandstones. 
Uncertainty  existed  as  to  its  thickness  in  the  Log  Mountains.  The  thick- 
ness there  appeared  to  be  about  400  feet.  The  Mingo  formation,  named 
from  its  occurrence  in  Mingo  Mountain,  has  a thickness  of  900  feet,  and 
extends  from  the  Bennet  Fork  coal  to  what  is  known  locally  as  the  Pop- 
lar Lick  coal.  It  includes  the  Mingo  coal  in  the  center  and  other  work- 
able beds.  Several  cliff-making  sandstones  occur  in  the  formation,  one 
of  which,  a short  distance  below  the  Mingo  coal,  is  known  as  the  Fork 
Ridge  sandstone. 

*U.  S.  Geological  Survey  Prof,  paper,  49. 


16 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


From  the  Poplar  Lick  coal  to  the  base  of  the  lower  Hignite  coal  was 
called  the  Catron  formation.  It  included  a number  of  coal  beds,  and 
one  massive  sandstone  at  the  top.  The  formation  is  350  feet  thick. 
From  the  bottom  of  the  lower  Hignite  coal  to  the  top  of  the  Red  Spring 
coal  (using  the  local  names)  was  called  the  Hignite  formation,  from  Hig- 
nite Creek  in  the  Log  Mountains.  In  that  region,  it  contains  four  or  more 
workable  coals ; sandstones  are  rather  more  prominent  in  this  formation 
than  in  those  below.  From  the  Red  Spring  coal  to  the  top  of  the  series, 
as  far  as  it  remains  in  the  Log  Mountains,  was  called  the  Bryson  forma- 
tion from  Bryson  Mountain,  one  of  the  highest  peaks  of  the  Log  Moun- 
tains. It  contains  one  or  two  thick  coals,  and  several  thinner  ones.  It 
is  more  shaly  than  the  underlying  formation. 

An  attempt  to  correlate  the  formations  of  the  Log  Mountains  of  Clai- 
borne County  with  the  formations  at  Briceville,  suggested  that  the  Brice- 
ville  formation  corresponds  to  the  Hance  formation  and  the  lower  half 
of  the  Mingo  formation,  that  is  up  about  to  the  Mingo  coal.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  the  Fork  Ridge  sandstone  underlying  the  Mingo  coal  may  prove 
to  be  the  same  as  the  sandstone  at  the  base  of  the  Wartburg  formation. 
The  Wartburg  formation  seems  to  correspond  to  the  upper  half  of  the 
Mingo  formation.  The  Scott  formation  and  Anderson  formation  cor- 
respond to  the  uppermost  three  formations  of  the  Log  Mountains,  though 
the  exact  corespondence  of  their  limits  is  not  known. 

If  the  attempt  be  made  to  draw  correlations  on  the  coals  of  the  post- 
Lee  formations,  the  correspondence  appears  hopeful  and  suggestive;  see 
Plate  A-IV.  Thus  in  the  Briceville  region  about  250  feet  above 
the  top  of  the  Lee  is  a coal  widely  worked,  and  known  as  the  Coal  Creek 
•coal.  At  Lafollette,  Newcomb  and  Jellico,  is  a coal  similarly  situated, 
known  as  the  Rex  coal.  For  the  moment  this  will  be  assumed  to  be  the 
same  as  the  Bennett  Fork  coal  of  the  Middlesboro  district,  though  that 
coal  appeared  to  be  further  from  the  top  of  the  Lee.  About  350  feet  above 
the  Coal  Creek  or  Rex  coal  is  the  widely  known  Jellico  bed,  with  the  Blue 
•Gem  bed  about  100  feet  below  it.  At  Lafollette  it  is  450  feet  from  the 
Rex  coal  to  the  Kent  coal,  which  seems  to  correspond  with  the  Jellico  bed, 
and  100  feet  below  is  a coal  known  as  the  Blue  Gem.  In  the  Log  Moun- 
tains it  is  334  feet  at  the  west  to  450  feet  at  the  east  from  the  Bennett 
Fork  coal  to  the  Mingo  coal,  which  a partial  tracing  led  David  White  to 
think  might  correspond  with  the  Jellico.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
above  the  Jellico  bed,  in  the  first  named  district,  is  the  Rich  Mountain  coal, 
and  the  same  distance  above  the  Mingo  coal  in  the  Log  Mountains  is  the 
'“Sandstone-parting”  coal. 

Passing  over  a number  of  workable  beds  from  500  to  600  feet  above  the 
Jellico  bed  are  two  beds,  the  lower  of  which  has  been  called  the  Dean  coal, 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


17 


Plate  AIV. 

BrysonMt  cke/llco  Newcomb  LsfoUeite  Coal  Creek  Scott  Co.  Brushy  Mt. 


Red  Spring 


\UiH ignite 
■iL.tiigriitc 


' ' \Dedn 


fopl&rLick 


5a  nd it one 
parting^ 


. McGuire 
' Dean 


, Caddell 


M±q$p_  [JeUico  _ 


Bennett 

R Fork 


Blue  Gem 


o „ 
/ 00 * 
too' 
'zoo' 


Cannel 

Splint 

Rich  MR 


Jell  lea  _ 
Blue  Gem 


Dixie 

Rei 


\\ 

w 

\\ 

N\ 


Jordan 


RjchMt. 

Rent  _ 

Blue  Gem 


Rex 


h 


il.  Block 
L.  Block 


Big/Vlorj 


Coal  Cr. 


Lee 


■ 400- 
Vertical  Scale 


Bald  Mt. 

bit. 

Bald  Mt. 

Can. 

Usher's  Jld 
bit. 
can. 

Lmori)  Mt. 


1 24"  bit. 

3*  can 

J/ 3"  coal 


\i4"coal 


U Pioneer 
M.Roneer 
L.  Pioneer 


Frozen 

Read 


Dean. 


JeJJl_co_  _ 

True  Blue  6. 

Douglas 
Blue  Gem 

Ryan  B.  G 
No.3. 


Frozen 

Head 


Dean 


No  7k  coal 
State  coal 


Sommers 

'dclson 


Lee  ? 


Lee 


Sections  with  Coals  of  Post-Lee  Age. 


18 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


and  the  upper  the  McGuire  or  Standard ; the  same  distance  above  the  Kent 
coal  at  Lafollette  is  the  Jordan  bed,  and  a similar  distance  above  the  Mingo 
bed  in  the  Log  Mountains  is  the  Poplar  Lick  bed  overlain  at  50  feet  by  the 
Klondike  bed.  In  the  Coal  Creek  field  the  upper  of  these  beds  is  known 
as  the  Big  Mary.  Mr.  Glenn  reports  that  everywhere  examined  the 
upper  of  these  two  beds  has  a characteristic  roof  with  marine  fossils  that 
renders  its  correlation  fairly  certain.  Still  above  the  coals  mentioned  of 
the  Coal  Creek  or  Briceville  field,  are  the  upper  and  lower  “Block  coals,” 
which  seem  to  correspond  to  the  upper  and  lower  Hignite  coals  of  the  Log 
Mountains.  Still  other  thick  coals  in  the  Coal  Creek  district  would  seem 
to  correspond  with  the  thick  coals  in  the  Hignite  and  Bryson  formations. 
Mr.  Glenn  has  noted  especially  the  similar  appearance  and  relations  of  a 
coal  in  shales  in  the  top  of  the  mountains  back  of  Briceville  and  Coal  Creek 
and  the  Red  Spring  coal  of  the  Log  Mountains. 

It  must  be  frankly  stated  that  until  these  coals  have  been  traced  through 
from  one  area  to  the  other,  mile  by  mile,  backed  up  by  the  detailed  studies 
of  the  fossils,  the  suggested  correlation,  just  given,  must  be  considered 
only  as  a suggestion. 

The  correlation  of  the  coals  of  the  Lee,  Walden  and  Lookout  forma- 
tions as  now  understood  would  be,  roughly,  somewhat  as  follows : 

The  main  coal  beds  being  worked  appear  to  come  between  the  Sewanee 
and  Bon  Air  sandstones.  They  have  been  designated  as  the  Sewanee 
group  below  and  the  Bon  Air  group  above,  separated  by  a 40-foot  sand- 
stone. Over  much  of  the  field  there  appear  to  be  five  coals  in  this  inter- 
val. One  coal  comes  close  above  the  Sewanee  sandstone,  which  may  be 
called  the  Rockwood  coal,  and  which  may  correspond  with  the  Richland 
coal  at  Dayton,  the  Soddy  coal  at  Soddy  and  the  Kelly  coal  at  Etna. 
From  40  to  80  feet  above  the  top  of  the  Sewanee  sandstone  is  the  main 
Sewanee  coal,  probably  corresponding  to  the  “Slate  vein”  at  Etna,  the 
Sewanee  coal  as  worked  at  various  points  along  the  west  side  of  the  Se- 
quatchie Valley,  the  main  coal  of  the  Herbert  Domain  region,  the  princi- 
pal coal  of  the  Sewanee  and  Tracy  City  districts.  This  bed  does  not 
appear  to  be  of  importance  along  the  eastern  escarpment.  Still  higher 
and  coming  immediately  below  the  40- foot  sandstone  is  the  third  coal, 
known  as  the  Oak  Hill  or  Walker  coal  at  the  Etna  mines,  but  apparently 
not  important  or  workable  coal  over  most  of  the  field,  though  usually  a 
coal  at  that  horizon  is  found.  Some  seventy  feet  below  the  Bon  Air  sand- 
stone and  close  above  the  40- foot  sandstone  are  the  two  Bon  Air  coals. 
Just  below  the  Rockcastle  sandstone  is  the  Lantana  coal,  so  named  by 
Hayes  from  the  workings  at  Lantana,  where  the  coal  is  locally  as  much 
as  15  feet  thick.  This  is  the  bed  Mr.  Phalen  has  called  the  “Morgan 
Springs”  bed. 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


19 


Below  the  Sewanee  sandstone  are  a number  of  coals,  several  of  which 
are  of  workable  thickness  locally.  Of  these  the  Nelson  coal  at  Dayton 
lies  about  450  feet  below  the  top  of  the  Sewanee  conglomerate,  the  main 
Etna  coal  lies  about  300  feet  below  the  top  of  the  conglomerate  or  imme- 
diately under  the  cliff-rock.  This  coal  is  of  workable  thickness  locally  at 
many  points,  though  at  many  other  points  it  is  known  to  be  thin  and  un- 
workable. It  is  the  “Bluff”  coal  of  the  Tracy  City  district.  The  ether  coals 
are  shown  in  the  sections  given,  and  until  further  study  has  been  made  of 
them  they  need  not  be  discussed  at  length  here. 

Structure. 

In  a broad  way  the  structure  of  the  Tennessee  coal  field  is  quite  simple. 
The  rocks,  as  a whole,  present  a steady  rise  from  the  Kentucky  State  line 
to  the  State  line  between  Tennessee  and  Alabama  and  Georgia.  In  the 
Middlesboro  district  the  base  of  the  coal-bearing  rocks  is  about  1,000 
feet  below  sea  level.  Around  Chattanooga  the  same  base,  or  a much 
lower  base,  is  about  1,500  feet  above  sea  level.  The  result  is,  that  while  at 
Middlesboro  there  are  probably  3,000  feet  or  more  of  coal-bearing  rocks 
with  many  workable  coal  beds  below  the  level  of  the  plateau,  at  Chatta- 
nooga only  the  basal  one-sixth  or  less  remains,  capping  the  plateau  and 
containing  relatively  few  workable  beds  of  coal. 

From  the  west  to  the  east  or  the  northwest  to  the  southeast  the  field 
presents  a basin  with  the  central  axis  close  to  the  southeast  edge.  From 
this  axis  the  rocks  rise  gradually  to  the  northwest  and  abruptly  to  the 
southeast.  The  rise  to  the  southeast  is  associated  with  faulting  or  sharp 
folding,  such  as  is  common  in  the  Appalachian  Valley  to  the  eastward. 
In  general  the  axis  is  only  a few  miles,  often  only  one  or  two  from  the 
eastern  edge  of  the  field  and  the  rocks  are  turned  up  at  high  angles  some- 
times so  as  to  be  quite  vertical,  as  at  the  Emory  River  Gap,  near  Harri- 
man.  The  general  gentle  rise  to  the  northwest  from  this  axis  is  broken 
by  three  pronounced  structural  features. 

Thus  in  the  south  half  of  the  field  there  has  been  developed  a great  up- 
turned fold  associated  with  faulting.  This  sets  in  near  the  Emory  River 
and  extends  southwestward  parallel  to  the  eastern  edge  of  the  field  to 
the  State  line  and  beyond.  Over  most  of  its  length  the  uplift  has  been 
so  pronounced  that  the  uplifted  rocks  have  been  worn  away,  exposing  the 
underlying  limestones,  and  these,  as  usual,  have  been  dissolved  and  eroded 
faster  than  the  adjoining  rocks,  resulting  in  the  well  known  Sequatchie 
Valley.  At  the  north  end,  where  the  uplift  has  been  less,  the  limestones 
have  not  been  reached  and  the  rocks  simply  project  above  the  plateau  as 
the  Crab  Orchard  Mountain. 


20 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


In  the  northeast  part  of  the  field  is  a very  notable  structural  disturb- 
ance. It  will  be  observed  on  the  map  that  the  east  face  of  Walden 
Ridge  follows  a fairly  even  northeast-southwest  line  up  to  Rockwood. 
From  there  to  Briceville  the  face  “bulges”  out  somewhat  to  the  southeast. 
At  Briceville  or  Coal  Creek  it  turns  sharply  to  the  northwest  for  about  ten 
miles,  where  it  again  takes  a northeastward  course  past  Cumberland  Gap. 
It  is  of  interest  to  observe  that  to  the  northwest  of  the  apparent  “bulge” 
mentioned,  the  rocks  rise  with  an  undisturbed  dip,  while  on  either  side 
they  appear  to  have  given  under  the  pressure  from  the  southeast.  To 
the  southwestward  from  Harriman,  the  rocks  yielded  by  folding  with 
some  faulting.  To  the  northeast  of  Briceville  they  yielded  by  breaking 
across  at  a low  angle,  the  rocks  from  the  east  being  pushed  over  the  rocks 
at  the  west.  This  break  is  known  as  the  Pine  Mountain  fault.  It  extends 
from  near  Pioneer  past  Jellico  and  Pineville,  to  a few  miles  beyond  the 
Breaks-o’-Sandy,  a distance  of  over  120  miles.  The  way  the  rocks  from 
the  east  have  been  pushed  over  the  others  at  the  west  shows  very 
clearly  at  the  northwest  end  of  the  Pineville  Gap  where  Cumberland 
River  cuts  through  Pine  Mountain  at  Pineville.  In  the  case  of  the  Se- 
quatchie Valley  fold,  the  fold  died  out  gradually  at  the  north  end,  but  in 
the  case  of  the  Pine  Mountain  fault,  it  seems  to  have  broken  off  sharply, 
and  the  whole  mass  pushed  forward,  being  separated  from  the  mass  to  the 
southwest  by  another  distinct  break,  known  as  the  Fork  Mountain  fault, 
extending  from  Pioneer  to  Coal  Creek  and  beyond.  It  should  not  be 
thought  that  the  off-set  in  the  line  of  coal  measures  from  Coal  Creek 
to  Caryville  is  a measure  of  the  actual  forward  movement,  but  probably 
was  very  much  less.  With  the  exception  of  these  notable  breaks,  all  of 
the  rocks  west  of  the  main  synclinal  axis  of  the  field  rise  to  the  north- 
west. Detailed  work  will  doubtless  show  many  slight  anticlines  and  syn- 
clines. West  and  northwest  of  Rockwood,  for  example,  there  are  two 
long  narrow  domes,  the  major  axis  running  northeast  and  southwest  with 
the  general  trend  of  the  structure,  and  on  one  of  these  the  southeast  dip 
for  a short  distance  is  as  high  as  45°,  and  the  rise  of  the  rocks  several 
hundred  feet,  but  the  domes  are  each  only  a few  miles  long.  Minor  fault- 
ing is  common  along  the  southeast  edge  of  the  field,  in  many  cases  with 
the  local  folding,  squeezing  and  other  disturbances  of  the  rocks  rendering 
mining  along  the  eastern  edge  difficult  and  uncertain.  The  effect  of  the 
general  rise  to  the  northwest  is  readily  seen  in  crossing  Walden  Ridge 
or  the  Cumberland  Mountains.  For  example,  on  Walden  Ridge,  at 
Dayton,  the  east  edge  of  the  ridge  is  capped  by  the  Rockcastle  sandstone. 
The  rise  gradually  carries  that  sandstone  above  the  surface  of  the  ridge, 
which  has  a generally  flat  top  and  brings  to  the  surface  the  underlying 
rocks  in  what  has  been  called  the  “Lee  shale  coal  group.”  It  is  also 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


21 


sufficient  to  bring  to  the  surface  of  the  plateau  the  Sewanee  sandstone, 
which  caps  the  northwestern  edge  of  the  ridge.  On  the  west  side  of  the 
Sequatchie  Valley,  the  folding  had  brought  the  rocks  down  so  that  the 
Rockcastle  sandstone  is  found  locally  along  the  eastern  face  of  the  Cum- 
berland Mountains,  forming  flat  topped  table-land  hills  above  the  main 
plateau,  which  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountain  has  been  cut  mostly 
in  the  rocks  between  the  Rockcastle  sandstone  and  the  Sewanee  sandstone. 
Approaching  the  western  irregular  escarpment  of  the  Cumberland  Moun- 
tains, the  dip  or  rise  brings  up  the  Sewanee  and  Bon  Air  sandstones,  which 
form  the  crest  of  the  mountain  all  along  that  face. 

In  what  is  known  as  the  Wartburg  basin,  the  Lee  formation,  after  being 
exposed  where  turned  up  at  the  eastern  face  of  the  field  is  carried  below 
drainage  through  the  middle  of  the  basin,  but  the  gradual  northwestward 
rise  brings  it  up  so  as  to  be  exposed  in  the  stream  beds  some  distance  east 
of  the  Queen  & Crescent  Railroad.  The  rise  continues  until,  a short  dis- 
tance west  of  the  Queen  & Crescent  Railroad,  it  forms  the  cap-rock  of  the 
plateau,  and  the  overlying  coal  measures  simply  project  up  as  uneroded 
remnants.  In  the  Middlesboro  basin  lying  between  Pine  Mountain  and 
the  Cumberland  Mountain  or  Cumberland  Gap,  the  strata  are  turned  up 
sharply  on  either  side  of  the  basin,  and  lie  nearly  flat  between  the  two 
inclosing  mountains.  Within  this  flat  area,  however,  the  dip  is  mainly 
to  the  northwest,  so  that  the  axis  of  that  local  basin  usually  runs  nearer 
Pine  Mountain  than  it  does  to  Cumberland  Mountain. 

Coals  of  Tennessee  Field. 

As  the  purpose  of  this  introductory  paper  is  only  to  give  some  general 
statements  so  as  to  show  the  general  relations  of  the  facts  in  the  Pike- 
ville  paper  to  the  conditions  in  the  rest  of  the  field,  and  as  a reconnaisance 
report  on  the  whole  field  is  in  preparation,  only  a few  words  need  be  given 
here  on  the  coals.  From  what  has  been  said  it  is  evident  that  the  condi- 
tions in  the  Pikeville  Special  quadrangle  are  not  typical  of  the  coal  field  as 
a whole,  but  only  of  the  south  end  of  the  field  where  only  the  basal  por- 
tion of  the  coal-bearing  rocks  remain.  To  the  northeast  the  same  rocks 
become  deep  and  are  overlain  by  other  higher  coal-bearing  rocks  con- 
taining thicker  and  more  reguiar  coals.  In  fact,  in  the  northeast  part  of 
the  field  the  coals  described  in  the  Pikeville  area  are  below  drainage  and 
not  worked  at  all  in  the  presence  of  the  thicker  coals  above  drainage. 
Where  about  ten  coals  have  been  found  in  the  Pikeville  area,  twenty  or 
more  are  known  in  the  Brushy  Mountain  district,  and  by  the  time  the 
State  line  is  reached  fifty  beds  (including  many  very  thin  beds)  are 
known,  not  including  those  corresponding  to  the  Pikeville  coals. 


22 


THE  TENNESSEE  COAL  FIELD. 


The  chemical  character  of  the  coals  of  the  State  is  discussed  by  Mr. 
Phalen.  In  thickness  the  coals  of  the  Pikeville  area  are  probably  typical 
of  the  coals  of  the  south  half  of  the  field  and  west  of  the  Queen  & Cres- 
cent Railroad.  In  the  north  part  of  the  field,  in  the  large  territory  north- 
east of  the  Queen  & Crescent  Railroad,  from  which  most  of  the  coal  of 
the  State  comes,  the  worked  beds  range  from  three  to  six  feet  or  more  in 
thickness.  (See  Prof.  Paper  No.  49,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey).  Thus  in 
Bryson  Mountain  near  the  north  edge  of  the  State  are  at  least  fourteen 
beds  three  feet  or  more  in  thickness.  Of  these  beds  ten  are  four  feet  or 
more  in  thickness ; seven  are  five  feet  or  over  in  thickness,  and  three  are 
six  feet  or  over  in  thickness.  In  general,  probably  four  feet  would  be  a fair 
average  of  the  beds  now  being  worked  in  that  section  of  the  State,  inclu- 
sive of  partings,  which  in  some  of  the  coals  are  quite  numerous,  and  in 
some  cases  render  the  coal  non-workable.  Among  the  lower  coals,  such 
as  those  of  the  Pikeville  region,  probably  three  feet  is  a good  average, 
thinning  down  to  nothing  and  thickening  in  exceptional  cases  to  fifteen 
or  eighteen  feet,  and  reported  in  the  Rockwood  mine  to  reach,  in  one  case, 
a thickness  of  about  100  feet.  Those  pockets  of  thicker  coal,  however, 
are  exceptional,  and  in  general  do  not  extend  over  a large  acreage. 


Cumberland  mountains  south  of  Cumberland  Gap,  Claiborne  County,  Tenn. 
From  Fern  Lake,  in  valley  west  of  mountain. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


23 


Preliminary  Report  of  the  Coal  Resources  of  the 
Pikeville  Special  Quadrangle  of 
Eastern  Tennessee. 


BY  W.  C.  PHALEN. 


INTRODUCTORY  STATEMENT. 

The  geological  field  studies  which  form  the  basis  of  this  preliminary 
report  were  made  in  the  summer  of  1910  by  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  in  co-operation  with  the  State  Geological  Survey  of  Tennessee. 
The  services  of  W.  C.  Phalen,  in  charge  of  a party,  and  the  equipment, 
were  contributed  by  the  former  organization,  and  the  aid  of  H.  G.  Hart 
as  field  assistant,  was  furnished  by  the  State.  This  paper,  which  deals 
exclusively  with  the  coal  resources,  has,  at  the  request  of  the  State  Geolo- 
gist, been  prepared  in  advance  of  the  completion  of  the  work.  The  field 
examinations  will  be  completed  in  the  season  of  1911.  It  is  expected  that 
the  report  or  reports,  accompanied  by  detailed  maps,  fully  describing  the 
geology  and  economic  resources  of  the  area,  will  later  be  prepared  for 
publication  by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey.* 

Location — The  quadrangle  is  located  in  the  eastern  part  of  Tennessee, 
a little  south  of  a central  east-west  line  across  the  State,  and  just  west  of 
the  valley  of  East  Tennessee.  Its  boundary  extends  through  15'  of  longi- 
tude (from  85°  to  85°  15'  W.)  and  15'  of  latitude  (from  35°  30'  to  35° 
45'  N.).  Its  area  is  approximately  245  square  miles.  It  comprises  the 
southeast  quarter  of  the  original  30'  Pikeville  quadrangle,  and  is  named 
for  the  same  town,  which  is  located  not  far  from  the  western  edge  of  the 
smaller  (special)  quadrangle.  Within  the  limits  of  the  special  quadrangle 
are  included  the  larger  part  of  Bledsoe  County,  a triangular  area  in  south- 
western Rhea  County,  and  a very  small  portion  of  southern  Cumberland 
County. 

Commercial  Geography — The  greater  part  of  the  quadrangle  is  occu- 
pied by  portions  of  Cumberland  Plateau  and  Walden  Ridge.  The  south- 
eastern corner  extends  for  a very  short  distance  over  the  eastern  edge  of 
the  latter,  into  the  valley  region  just  north  of  Dayton.  The  Sequatchie 
Valley,  a straight,  narrow  valley  averaging  between  three  and  four  miles 
in  width  and  over  1,000  feet  in  depth,  extends  from  southwest  to  north- 

*Additional  field  work  was  done  in  the  Pikeville  area  in  1910  by  Chas.  Butts,  of 
the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  and  Wilbur  A.  Nelson,  of  the  State  Survey,  but  not 
affecting  the  coal  work,  as  their  studies  were  confined  to  the  floor  and  sides  of  the 
Sequatchie  Valley. 


24 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


east  diagonally  and  nearly  centrally  through  the  quadrangle.  The  north- 
west corner  of  the  area  falls  considerably  short  of  the  irregular  western 
border  of  Cumberland  Plateau 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  the  coal  areas  of  the  quadrangle 
which  are  confined  to  the  Cumberland  Plateau  and  Walden  Ridge  border 
the  valley  of  East  Tennessee  and  the  Sequatchie  Valley,  both  of  which 
give  easy  railroad  outlet,  though  the  height  of  the  mountain  escarpments 
and  the  lack  of  deep  stream  incision  are  obstacles  in  the  way  of  reaching 
the  levels  of  the  coals.  The  Cumberland  Plateau  is,  however,  traversed 
by  several  branch  railway  lines  which  follow  from  the  west  up  the  large 
streams  and  give  outlet  to  the  basin  of  central  Tennessee.  Having  once 
reached  the  top  of  either  mountain,  railways  may,  with  little  trouble,  be 
constructed  to  practically  all  parts  of  the  coal  field. 

Dayton,  the  county-seat  of  Rhea  County,  is  the  main  economic  center 
of  the  region.  Here  coke  is  made  and  iron  smelted  at  the  furnaces  of  the 
Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  Morgantown,  which  is  essentially  a 
suburb  of  Dayton,  is  situated  in  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  quadrangle 
at  the  edge  of  Walden  Ridge.  The  Cincinnati,  New  Orleans  & Texas 
Pacific  Railroad  (Queen  & Crescent  line)  runs  across  this  part  of  the 
area,  and  spur  tracks  from  it  tap  the  coal  mines  of  the  Dayton  Coal  & 
Iron  Company,  which  are  located  in  the  valley  of  Richland  Creek  and 
its  tributary,  Morgan  Creek.  A spur  track  formerly  ran  out  to  the  mines 
near  the  head  of  Cranmore  Cove,  but  these  mines  have  long  since  been 
abandoned  and  the  track  to  them  was  in  large  part  removed  during  the 
summer  of  1910.  Pikeville,  county-seat  of  Bledsoe  County,  is  the  only 
other  town  of  importance  in  the  quadrangle.  It  is  located  in  the  Sequatch- 
ie Valley,  and  is  the  terminus  of  the  Sequatchie  branch  of  the  Nashville, 
Chattanooga  & St.  Louis  Railroad,  which  leaves  the  main  line  of  that  sys- 
tem at  Bridgeport,  Alabama. 

As  the  coal  fields  are  exploited  it  is  probable  that  the  coal  mined  near 
Dayton  and  from  along  or  near  the  eastern  escarpment  of  Walden  Ridge, 
will  be  shipped  over  the  Cincinnati,  New  Orleans  & Texas  Pacific  Rail-: 
road.  The  coal  mined  on  both  sides  of  Sequatchie  Valley  and  near  the 
plateau  escarpments  bordering  this  valley  will  probably  go  out  of  the  area 
by  way  of  the  Sequatchie  Valley  Branch  of  the  Nashville,  Chattanooga 
& St.  Louis  Railroad,  while  the  coal  mines  opened  along  the  top  of  Cum- 
berland Plateau  will  be  taken  out  on  branch  lines,  extensions  either  of 
the  McMinnville  or  Tracy  City  branches  of  the  Nashville,  Chattanooga 
& St.  Louis  Railroad,  or  possibly  over  a branch  or  spur  from  the  Se- 
quatchie Valley  line. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


25 


GENERAL  GEOLOGY  OF  THE  QUADRANGLE. 

The  geology  of  the  original  Pikeville  quadrangle,  mapped  by  C.  W. 
Hayes,  on  a topographic  base,  with  a scale  two  miles  to  the  inch,  and  with 
a contour  interval  of  100  feet,  was  published  in  1895  as  Folio  No.  21  of 
the  Geologic  Atlas  of  the  United  States.  The  field  work  on  that  folio, 
which  antedated  much  of  the  prospecting  and  development  of  the  coals 
in  the  special  quadrangle,  could  not  be  carried  out  with  the  detail  made 
possible  by  the  new  and  more  accurate  topographic  map.  In  the  latter 
the  horizontal  scale  used  on  the  old  map  is  doubled,  being  drawn  approxi- 
mately a mile  to  the  inch,  and  the  contours  show  differences  of  twenty 
feet  in  elevation  above  tide.  Pending  the  publication  of  formal  and  more 
complete  reports,  accompanied  by  the  new  maps  of  the  Pikeville  Special 
quadrangle,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  above-cited  folio  for  information 
as  to  the  general  topography  of  the  region,*  as  well  as  to  the  main  geo- 
logic features  and  formations.  The  latter  extend  through  a great  range 
of  time,  but  the  present  paper  is  concerned  only  with  those  which  are  coal- 
bearing and  which  in  East  Tennessee  are  of  Carboniferous  age. 

*The  new  topographic  map  of  the  Pikeville  Special  quadrangle  may  be  obtained 
at  a cost  of  five  cents  per  copy,  by  addressing  the  Director,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey, 
Washington,  D.  C. 


26 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


[rlorqan 
Sprinqs 
Coal. 


r 


S6 


Richland 

Coal 


3=*£ 


C,  8 


Rockcastle 

Sandstone 


C.  3' 3 


PLATE  II. 

Location  of  Sections. 


No.  1. 
No.  2. 


Bon  Air  (?) 
Sand  stone 


Compiled  section  near  Dayton. 
Section  on  nose  between  Rich- 
land and  Googee  creeks. 

No.  3.  Section  in  Roaring  Creek  (Mon- 
tague) Gulch  near  Graysville. 
No.  4.  Section  below  Porch  Rock. 
Section  in  Skellin  Cove. 

Section  in  Low  Gap. 

Section  in  Pitt’s  Gap  Road  (off 
map.) 


No.  5. 
No.  6. 
No.  7. 


C.0-8* 


C ? 

c 

c. 


C.6 


Q? 


CIO 
C.  2-3" 


Settanee 

Sandstone 


-Melson  Coal 
Goodrich  Coal 

Pennington  Shale 


C .7-3 


Sections,  showing  relations  of  coal  beds  in  Pikeville  quadrangle,  on  Wal- 
den Ridge. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


27 


8 

Rockcastle 
Sandstone 
Morgan 

Springs  Coal 


No.  11 


PLATE  IIA. 

Location  of  Sections. 

Compiled  section  west  of  Pike- 
ville. 

Section  on  Big  Spring  Gap  Road. 

Section  on  Glade  Creek,  south- 
west of  Herbert  P.  O. 

Section  near  John  Togland’s 
house,  Cane  Creek,  north  of 
Herbert. 

Section  on  road  near  confluence 
of  Cane  and  Bee  creeks. 


Sewanee  Coal 

Sewanee 

Sandstone 


Pennington  ShaJe. 


Sections,  showing  relations  of  coal  beds  in  Pikeville  Special  quadrangle  on 
Cumberland  Plateau. 


28 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


Coal-Bearing  Formations. 


The  coal  beds  of  the  Pikeville  Special  quadrangle  are,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a Mississippian  bed  later  to  be  mentioned,  included  in  a group  of 
massive  sandstones  and  interbedded  shales  of  Pottsville  age  which  cap- 
Walden  Ridge  and  Cumberland  Plateau.  This  group  has  been  divided 
by  Hayes  into  two  formations,  named,  in  ascending  order,  Lookout  sand- 
stone, and  Walden  sandstone,  but  as  a result  of  the  work  of  the  past 
summer  a more  detailed  subdivision  of  the  main  coal-bearing  Carboni- 
ferous rocks  will  be  made.  The  subdivision,  so  far  as  it  concerns  the 
coal-bearing  formations  is  as  follows : 

TABLE  OF  COAL-BEARING  FORMATIONS  IN  PIKEVILLE  SPECIAL  QUADRANGLE. 


Series 

Group 

Formation 

Members 

Thickness 
in  Feet 

CHARACTER 

Pensylvanian 

Pottsville  group 

Walden  sandstone  b. 

100-150 

Sandy  shales  or  shaly  sandstones,  not 
coal-bearing  in  this  area,  but  may  be 
be  so  to  the  north. 

100 

Massive  cliff-making  conglomeratic  sand- 
stone at  Morgan  Springs,  overlying  the 
Morgan  Springs  coal. 

500-600 

Massive  sandstone  beds  with  shales  and 
workable  coal  beds. 

Lookout 
sandstone  b. 

60-150 

Massive  cliff-making  conglomeratic  sand- 
stone. The  lower  conglomerate  (a) 

325-450 

Shales  and  sandstone  with  important 
coal  beds. 

Demarked  from  the  above  at  the  top  of 

4) 

the  red  shales.  Consists  of  brilliant 

a 

rt 

red  shales,  with  ordinary  shales  of 

*Q« 

XI 

03 

various  colors  and  sandstones  distinc- 

P. 

a 

o 

tive  owing  to  their  resemblance  to- 

C/J 

c n 

1? 

350-450 

chert.  Along  the  west  side  of  Se- 

cn 

t/i 

'5 

quatchie  Valley  it  contains  important 

S 

a 

limestone  lentils  100  feet  thick  in 

Cu 

places  and  locally  developed.  Contains- 

locally  a thin  coal  bed  at  its  base. 

(a)  The  writer  regards  this  member  of  the  section  as  the  equivalent  of  Safford’s 
“Conglomerate;”  the  equivalence  of  the  sandstones  with  that  named  Bon  Air, 
by  Mr.  M.  R.  Campbell  (Standingstone  Folio)  in  1899  is  questioned  (Geology  of 
Tennessee,  1869,  p.  367,  et  seq.),  and  the  Sewanee  conglomerate  of  Safford  & 
Killebrew  (“The  Elements  of  the  Geology  of  Tennessee,”  1900,  p.  150). 

(b)  As  used  by  C.  W.  Hayes  m the  Ringgold,  Kingston,  Chattanooga,  and  Se- 
wanee Folios,  1894. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


29 


PENNINGTON  SHALE. 

% 

The  main  characteristics  of  this  formation  have  been  given  in  the  tabu- 
lar view  above  and  will  not  again  be  considered.  Conditions  which  were 
locally  favorable  for  the  formation  of  coal  appear  to  have  occurred  near 
the  beginning  of  and  at  other  periods  during  the  Pennington.  The  coal 
at  the  base  of  the  formation,  approximately  350  feet  below  the  topmost 
red  shales,  is  local  in  occurrence.  It  was  not  seen  of  commercial  thick- 
ness and  quality  in  this  quadrangle.  In  the  Pikeville  folio  (No.  21)  the 
Pennington  shale  was  mapped  with  the  Bangor  limestone. 

LOOKOUT  FORMATION. 

The  Lookout  formation  is  385  to  600  feet  in  thickness.  It  rests  un- 
con formably  on  the  soft  olive-green  and  red  shales  of  the  Pennington 
(Mississippian)  from  which  it  is  readily  distinguished  by  the  strong  con- 
trast in  the  character  and  color  of  the  beds.  The  top  of  the  Lookout  is 
in  this  region  a very  massive  conglomeratic  sandstone  from  60  to  150 
feet  in  thickness,  which  is  regarded  as  identical  with  that  named  the  Se- 
wanee  conglomerate  by  Safford  and  Killebrew.  It  may,  for  convenience 
in  this  paper,  and  merely  for  local  use,  be  termed  the  “lower  conglomer- 
ated This  hard  and  resistant  member  is  the  most  conspicuous  bed  along 
the  main  escarpment  of  the  mountains;  and  where  the  beds  are  not  too 
steeply  inclined  it  forms  a projecting  cliff  surmounted  by  a bench  or  shelf 
along  or  near  the  mountain  tops.  This  member  has  been  traced  by  Hayes 
through  the  Sewanee  quadrangle,  where  it  was  found  by  him  to  be  the 
same  as  that  later  called  Sewanee  conglomerate  by  Safford  and  Killebrew. 

The  Lookout  formation  is  thickest  on  the  east  side  of  Walden  Ridge, 
where  near  Dayton  it  measures  600  feet,  as  shown  in  columnar  section 
No.  1,  PI.  II.  It  is  thinner  along  the  sides  of  Sequatchie  Valley  to  the 
west.  Its  thinnest  measured  section,  No.  7 on  the  same  plate,  is  325  feet. 
On  the  map,  PI.  I,  the  outcrop  of  the  Bon  Air  conglomerate  member  is 
definitely  shown  on  the  east  edge  of  Cumberland  Plateau,  while  along 
or  near  the  western  and  eastern  escarpments  of  Walden  Ridge  its  top 
is  approximately  indicated  by  the  outcrop  line  of  the  Richland  coal. 

The  number  and  stratigraphic  positions  of  the  coal  beds  in  the  Lookout 
are  shown  in  the  columnar  sections  on  PI.  II.  The  details  connected  with 
the  individual  coal  beds  will  be  given  subsequently. 

WALDEN  FORMATION. 

The  beds  overlying  the  lower  conglomerate  member,  which  forms 
the  top  of  the  Lookout  formation,  were  included  by  Hayes  in  the  Walden 


30 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


formation,  but  the  upper  limit  of  the  Walden  was  never  defined.  The 
greatest  thickness  of  these  beds  in  the  quadrangle  is  nearly  700  feet. 
They  may  easily  be  separated  into  three  divisions,  as  seen  from  the  tabular 
view,  an  upper  division  consisting  of  sandy  shales  or  shaly  sandstones, 
a middle  conglomeratic  member  and  a lower  division  500  to  600  feet  thick, 
composed  of  sandstones  and  shale.  The  topmost  beds  have  been  removed 
from  much  of  the  area,  and  the  massive,  cross-bedded  and  locally  conglom- 
eratic sandstone  with  a maximum  thickness  of  100  feet  caps  the  upper 
knobs  along  the  eastern  edge  of  Cumberland  Plateau  and  forms  the  es- 
carpment along  the  eastern  edge  of  Walden  Ridge.  On  the  Cumberland 
Plateau  the  locations  and  areas  of  these  upper  mesa-like  knobs  are  indicat- 
ed by  the  outcrop  lines  of  the  underlying  coal  bed.  This  conglomeratic 
sandstone  forms  the  surface  rock  over  a large  part  of  the  eastern  two- 
thirds  of  Walden  Ridge  in  this  area,  and  is  traceable  for  long  distance  to 
the  south  and  north  of  the  quadrangle.  It  is  thought  that  this  upper  con- 
glomerate may  prove  to  be  equivalent  to  the  Rockcastle  conglomerate  of 
Campbell. 

The  principal  coal  beds  of  the  Walden,  as  shown  in  columnar  sections 
Nos.  1,  2,  3 and  8 on  PI.  II,  are  near  the  base  of  the  formation.  The  low- 
est coal  bed,  0-15  feet  above  the  top  of  the  Lookout  formation,  is  known 
as  the  Richland  coal  in  the  vicinity  of  Dayton.  It  is  the  Soddy 
coal  of  the  region  farther  south,  and  is  the  same  as  that  mined  at  Rock- 
wood  in  the  Kingston  quadrangle.  This  bed  is  persistent  but  generally 
not  more  than  two  feet  thick  where  best  known  in  the  vicinity  of  Dayton. 
In  Cumberland  Plateau  a persistent  and  important  coal,  which  has  been 
exploited  at  several  points,  is  persistent  about  30  feet  above  the  lowest 
coal  in  the  formation.  This  second  coal  is  thought  to  be  the  main  Sewanee 
bed  of  Safford  in  the  region  southwest  of  the  Pikeville  quadrangle.  It 
becomes  thicker  and  better  toward  the  northwestern  part  of  the  Pike- 
ville Special  quadrangle,  where  it  promises  to  be  of  considerable  value. 
Several  other  coal  beds,  either  thin  or  local  in  occurrence,  are  found  above 
the  coal  last  mentioned,  one  of  the  most  persistent  of  which  is  the  Morgan 
Springs  bed,  whose  area  is  indicated  on  the  map. 

Additional  details  regarding  the  developments  and  characters  of  the 
coal  beds  in  the  Lookout  and  Walden  formations  will  be  given  in  the  de- 
scriptions of  the  coal  beds  in  the  varions  districts  of  the  quadrangle. 

Structure. 

The  geological  structure,  that  is  the  attitude  or  shape  in  which  the 
strata  lie,  is  somewhat  similar  in  both  of  the  mountains  partially  included 
in  this  quadrangle.  In  Walden  Ridge,  particularly,  the  strata  are  bent 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


31 


m the  form  of  a long,  shallow  trough  (syncline)  extending  in  a northeast- 
southwest  direction.  In  general  form  the  beds  lie  in  the  shape  of  a very 
broad  U or  V,  the  western  side  of  which  dips  gentl}r  eastward  toward  the 
bottom  or  deepest  part  lying  near  the  eastern  side.  The  eastern  limb  of 
the  trough  is  much  steeper  and  has  in  places  been  strongly  upbent  or  even 
crumpled.  The  strong  westward-directed  dynamic  stresses  that  caused 
the  steeper  upturn  of  the  beds  in  the  eastern  escarpment  of  both  Wal- 
den Ridge  and  Cumberland  Plateau  produced  minor  undulations  of  the 
strata,  which  are  more  strongly  developed  near  or  at  their  eastern  edges. 

In  the  Cumberland  Plateau  the  axis  or  deepest  part  of  the  basin  or 
trough  is  roughly  indicated  by  the  trend  of  the  areas  of  Morgan  Springs 
coal,  shown  in  the  map,  PI.  I.  On  the  east  of  the  axis  the  beds  dip  at  high 
angles,  as  much  as  45°  or  60°  to  the  northwest.  To  the  west  of  the  axis 
the  beds  of  the  plateau  are  fairly  flat,  and  the  undulations  observed  are 
mostly  of  small  magnitude. 

The  dip  along  the  western  border  of  Walden  Ridge  varies  from  20°  to 
30°  to  the  southeast.  The  beds  are  flatter  in  the  deeper  part  of  the  basin, 
beneath  the  area  underlain  by  the  Morgan  Springs  coal.  The  deepest 
part  of  the  trough  is  probably  within  two  miles  of  the  eastern  escarpment 
of  the  mountain  throughout  most  of  its  extent  in  this  quadrangle.  In 
this  basin  the  minor  undulations  or  folds  are  steeper  and  closer  near  the 
eastern  border,  where  in  places  the  beds  have  been  abruptly  upturned  and 
squeezed,  so  that  the  coals  are  locally  crushed  and  much  pocketed.  It  is- 
probable,  however,  that  these  effects  of  the  westward  pressure  disappear 
for  the  most  part  near  the  bottom  of  the  trough,  and  that  the  strata  on 
the  western  side  of  the  axis  are  relatively  undisturbed  and  the  coals  more 
evenly  bedded. 

Exposures  and  Accessibility  of  the  Coals. 

As  a result  of  the  geologic  structure  and  the  character  of  the  beds  in 
the  Pottsville  group,  the  drainage  of  Walden  Ridge  is  almost  wholly 
southeastward.  The  streams  head  close  against  the  brow  of  the  western 
escarpment,  and  flow  down  the  dip,  gradually  cutting  through  the  Walden 
strata.  Consequently  the  western  wall  of  the  mountain  is  precipitous 
and  hardly  notched  by  streams,  though  shallowly  indented  by  several 
somewhat  rounded  coves.  The  streams  which  descend  rapidly  in  their 
escape  through  the  eastern  rim  of  the  basin  have  not  cut  deep  enough  to- 
trench  the  lower  conglomerate,  or  to  expose  the  Richland  coal  for  any 
considerable  distance  back  from  the  general  alignment  of  the  escarpment 
in  any  part  of  the  quadrangle.  On  account  of  the  lack  of  deeply  cut 
drainage  on  both  sides  of  Walden  Ridge  the  outcrops  of  the  coal  beds  in 


32 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


the  Lookout  are  practically  confined  to  the  two  opposite  and  distant  es- 
carpments of  the  plateau,  and  the  Richland  and  other  coal  beds  are  at 
no  point  seen  far  from  the  brow  of  the  cliff  or  bench  on  which  they  rest. 
On  the  eastern  side  of  the  Cumberland  Plateau  the  conditions  of  outcrop 
and  accessibility  of  these  coal  beds  are  hardly  better,  since  the  escarpment 
is  but  slightly  indented  by  the  scant  eastward-flowing  drainage. 

On  Cumberland  Plateau,  the  drainage  flows  mostly  northwestward; 
but  though  this  vigorous  drainage  has  cut  deep  gorges  in  the  Lookout 
formation,  far  back  from  the  western  borders  of  the  plateau,  the  deep 
trenching  has  not  yet  extended  far  enough  to  the  east  to  expose  even  the 
Sewanee  coal  within  the  limits  of  this  quadrangle. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  will  at  once  be  recognized  that  on  account 
of  the  lack  of  exposures,  except  along  the  great  escarpment  fronts  of  the 
Walden  Ridge  and  Cumberland  Plateau,  any  conclusions  as  to  the  con- 
tinuity or  regularity  in  structure  and  thickness  of  the  coal  beds  in  the 
quadrangle  must  be  deduced  from  the  observations  of  the  exposed  out- 
crops of  the  coal  along  the  escarpments ; from  the  development  of  the 
beds  in  mined  and  prospected  districts ; and  from  drill  records.  Unfor- 
tunately the  outcrop  exposures  are,  in  general,  rare,  on  account  of  the 
enormously  thick  mass  of  coarse  sandstone  detritious  descending  along  the 
slopes  below  the  cliffs.  Mining  in  the  Lookout,  moreover,  is  almost  entire- 
ly confined  to  the  southeast  corner  of  the  quadrangle;  prospecting  has  been 
insufficiently  and  unequally  distributed,  and  drilling  has  been  confined  al- 
most entirely  to  the  lands  of  a single  company. 

It  appears,  however,  that  in  spite  of  frequent  local  rolls  and  squeezes 
near  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Walden  Ridge  basin,  the  Nelson  coal  is 
on  the  whole  fairly  reliable  in  thickness  over  the  southeastern  portion  of 
the  quadrangle,  whereas  the  Richland  coal  bed  seems  to  be  continuous 
and  important  along  the  eastern  side  of  Walden  Ridge  throughout  the  area 
under  consideration.  On  the  western  side  of  Walden  Ridge  the  Richland 
coal  is  workable  where  it  has  been  opened  up.  In  the  Cumberland  Plateau, 
the  next  higher  coal  bed,  probably  the  main  Sewanee  bed,  increases  in 
thickness  and  is  moderately  uniform  in  structure,  as  well  as  of  good  qual- 
ity. 

Lack  of  erosional  incision  and  exposure  of  the  beds,  except  along  the 
three  great  escarpment  lines  in  the  quadrangle,  is  an  impediment  to  their 
easy  exploitation,  as  well  as  to  the  survey  of  the  coal  resources  of  the  area. 
Owing  to  the  fact  that  along  the  faces  of  the  escarpment  the  beds  dip 
more  or  less  steeply  into  the  mountains,  the  coals,  especially  those  of  the 
Lookout,  generally  pass  at  once  under  a thick  cover  of  strata.  The  thick- 
ness of  this  cover,  which,  as  indicated  on  the  map,  is  great  enough  to 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


33 


contain  the  Morgan  Springs  coal  over  much  of  the  area,  is  a further  hin- 
drance to  the  exploration  of  the  beds  and  may  possibly  necessitate  mining 
by  shaft  over  the  greater  part  of  the  coal  fields  in  the  quadrangle. 

COALS  OF  THE  QUADRANGLE. 

Method  of  Sampling — In  order  to  show  the  character  of  the  coals  of 
the  quadrangle,  several  samples  for  chemical  analysis  were  collected  at 
various  places  from  the  different  beds  according  to  Survey  methods. 
These  are  as  follows : 

A face  of  coal  as  fresh  as  it  was  possible  to  select  was  chosen.  It  was 
then  cleaned  of  mine  dust  or  extraneous  matter  which  naturally  did  not 
belong  in  the  coal  as  mined.  A piece  of  water-proof  cloth  was  then  spread 
upon  the  mine  floor  to  catch  the  particles  of  coal  as  they  were  cut  from  the 
bed  and  to  keep  out  impurities  and  moisture  where  the  floor  was  damp. 
A channel  was  then  cut  perpendicularly  across  the  face  of  the  coal  bed 
from  roof  to  floor  and  particular  care  taken  to  secure  everything  cut  down 
excepting  partings  or  binders  more  than  ^-inch  in  thickness  and  lenses 
or  concretions  of  pyrite  (“sulphur”)  or  other  impurities  that  ordinarily1 
would  not  go  into  the  normal  output  of  the  mine.  The  sample  taken  was 
of  such  a size  as  to  yield  at  least  five  pounds  of  coal  per  foot  of  thickness 
of  coal  bed,  i.e.,  five  pounds  for  a bed  one  foot  thick,  ten  pounds  for  a bed 
two  feet  thick,  etc.  Care  was  exercised  to  keep  the  groove  of  uniform 
size  throughout,  without  regard  to  the  material  or  character  of  coal  en- 
countered. If  the  coal  appeared  to  be  normally  dry,  it  was  pulverized  so 
that  the  particles  would  all  pass  through  a half-inch  mesh  sieve  and  it  was 
then  mixed  thoroughly.  It  was  next  quartered  and  opposite  quarters 
rejected  and  this  operation  repeated  till  a sample  of  coal  of  the  proper 
size  was  obtained.  The  sample  was  prepared  in  this  manner  at  the  place 
where  it  was  collected  in  the  mine.  It  was  then  placed  in  a screw-top 
galvanized  iron  can,  sealed  thoroughly  with  adhesive  tape  and  mailed  to 
the  laboratory  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines. 

Chemistry  and  Uses — The  composition  of  the  coals  from  this  area  is 
given  in  the  following  table : 


34 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


ANALYSES  OF  COAL  SAMPLES  FROM  THE  PIKEVILLE  SPECIAL  QUADRANGLE 
(analyzed  in  laboratory  of  u.  s.  bureau  of  mines;  a.  c.  fieldner,  chemist) 
NELSON  COAL,  NEAR  DAYTON,  TENN. 


CONDITION  OF 
SAMPLE 

Lab.  No. 

Air  Drying 
Loss 

PROXIMATE 

ULTIMATE 

| Calorific  Value 

Moisture 

Volatile 

Matter 

Fixed 

Carbon 

Ash 

1 Sulphur 

Hydrogen 

Carbon 

1 

Nitrogen 

Oxygen 

Calories 

B.  T.  U. 

As  received  

10696 

.8 

1.8 

27.9 

49.6 

20.81 

.49 

4.51 

66.24 

1.19 

6.76 

6480 

11670 

Air  dried  

1.0 

28.1 

50.0 

20.98 

.49 

4.46 

66.77 

1.20 

6.10 

6535 

11760 

Dry  nna.l  

28.4 

50.5 

21.18 

.50 

4.39 

67.43 

1.21 

5.29 

6595 

11880 

"Purft  p.nnl  

36.0 

64.0 

.63 

5.57 

85.55 

1.54 

6.71 

8370 

15070 

As  rec’d  

10697 

2.0 

3.1 

29.8 

52.8 

14.4 

.5 

Air  dried  

1.1 

30.4 

53.8 

14.7 

.5 

Dry  p.oal  

30.7 

54.4 

14.9 

.5 

"Puro  oofll  

36.1 

63.9 

.6 

As  rep.’d  

10698 

.8 

1.9 

27.9 

49.2 

21.0 

.5 

Air  dried  

1.1 

28.1 

49.6 

21.2 

.5 

Dry  coal  

28.4 

50.2 

21.5 

.5 

Pure  coal  

36.2 

63.8 

.6 

As  rec’d  

10699 

3.2 

4.3 

28.2 

51.8 

15.6 

.5 

Air  dried  

1.2 

29.1 

53.5 

16.2 

.5 

Dry  coal  

29.5 

54.2 

16.3 

.5 

"Pure  coal  

35.3 

64.8 

.6 

1 

RICHLAND  COAL. 


As  rec’d  

10692 

.9 

2.0 

28.8 

57.5 

11.79 

1.78 

4.85 

74.43 

1.26 

5.89 

7345 

13220 

Air  dried  

1.1 

29.1 

5S.0 

11.90 

1.80 

4.79 

75.11 

1.27 

5.13 

7410 

13340 

Dry  coal  

29.4 

58.6 

12.03 

1.82 

4.72 

75.92 

1.29 

4.22 

7490 

13480 

Pure  coal  

33.4 

66 . 6 

2.06 

5.37 

86.31 

1.47 

4.79 

8515 

15330 

As  rec’d  

10693 

1.0 

2.1 

27.9 

55.1 

14.91 

.65 

4.76 

71.49 

1 

1.18 

7.01 

7015 

12630 

Air  dried  

1.1 

28.2 

55.7 

15.06 

.66 

4.70 

72.21 

1.19 

6.18 

7090 

12760 

Dry  coal  

28.5 

56.3 

15.23 

.66 

4.63 

73.01 

1 21 

5.26 

7165 

12900 

Pure  coal  

33.6 

66.4 

.78 

5.46 

86.13 

1.43 

6.20 

8455 

15220 

As  rec’d  

10690 

•7 

1.9 

29.7 

53.4 

14.98 

1.65 

4.68 

71.09 

1.40 

6.20 

7040 

1 12680 

Air  dried  

1.2 

29.9 

53.8 

15.09 

1.66 

4.63 

71.59 

1.41 

5.62 

7090 

12770 

Dry  Coal  

30.3 

54.5 

15.27 

1.68 

4.56 

72.46 

1.43 

4.60 

7180 

12920 

Pure  coal  

37.7 

64.3 

1.98 

5.38 

85.52 

1.69 

5.43 

8475 

15250 

As  rec’d  

10689 

.7 

1.9 

29.7 

54.4 

14.03 

1.43 

4.71 

71.50 

1.41 

6.92 

7110 

12800 

Air  dried  

1.2 

29.9 

54.8 

14.13 

1.44 

4.66 

72.00 

1.42 

6.35 

7160 

12890 

Dry  coal  

30.3 

55.5 

14.30 

1.46 

4.59 

72.89 

1.44 

5.32 

7250 

13050 

Pure  coal  

35.3 

64.7 

1.70 

5.36 

85.06 

1.68 

6.20 

8460 

15220 

SEWANEE 

: (?)  COAL. 

As  rec’d  

10799 

1.6 

2.6 

26.5 

61.3 

9.6 

.8 

7550 

13590 

Air  dried  

1.0 

26.9 

62.3 

9.8 

.8 

7670 

13810 

Dry  coal  

27.2 

62.9 

9.9 

.8 

7750 

13950 

Pure  coal  

30.2 

69.8 

.9 

8600 

15480 

As  rec’d  

10800 

3.3 

4.3 

25.7 

62.5 

7.5 

.6 

7575 

13630 

Air  dried  

1.0 

26.6 

64.6 

7.7 

.6 

7830 

14100 

Dry  coal  

26.9 

65.3 

7.8 

.6 

7915 

14240 

Pure  coal  

29.1 

70.9 

.6 

8585 

15450 

As  rec’d  

10801 

1.2 

2.3 

27.0 

63.4 

7.4 

.5 

7735 

13920 

Air  dried  

1.1 

27.3 

64.2 

7.4 

.5 

7825 

14090 

Dry  coal  

27.6 

64.9 

7.5 

.5 

7910 

14240 

Pure  coal  

29.8 

70.2 

.6 

8555 

15400 

COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA 


35 


ANALYSES  OF  COAL  SAMPLES  FROM  THE  PIKEVILLE  SPECIAL  QUADRANGLE 
(analyzed  in  laboratory  of  u.  s.  bureau  of  mines,  a.  c.  fieldner,  chemist) 


CONDITION  OF 
SAMPLE 


o 

<:  j 


PROXIMATE 


ULTIMATE 


o 


a 

tj  2 


Calorific  Value 


As  rec’d 
Air  dried 
Dry  coal 
Pure  coal 
As  rec’d 
Air  dried 
Dry  coal 
Pure  coal 
As  rec’d 
Air  dried 
Dry  coal 
Pure  coal 
As  rec’d 
Air  dried 
Dry  coal 
Pure  coal 


10915 


1.9 


10916 


3.7 


11050 


2.6 


11049 


2.8 


3.4 

1.6 


5.3 

1.7 


4.4 

1.8 


4.4 

1.7 


31.1 

31.7 

32.2 

35.1 

28.8 

29.9 

30.4 

32.6 

26.7 

27.4 

27.9 

29.9 

27.2 

27.9 

28.4 

31.2 


57.6 

58.8 

59.7 

65.0 

59.6 

61.9 

63.0 

67.4 

62.4 

64.0 
65.2 

70.1 

59.9 

61.6 
62.6 

68.8 


7.8 

8.0 

8.1 


6.3 

6.5 

6.6 


6.6 

6.8 

6.9 


8.6 

8.8 

9.0 


.6 

.6 

.6 

.6 

.5 

.5 

.5 

.6 

.7 

.7 

.7 

.8 

.9 

1.0 

1.0 

1.1 


7485 

7630 

7750 

8435 

7445 

7735 

7865 

8420 

7430 

7630 

7770 

8345 

7300 

7510 

7640 

8395 


13470 

13730 

13950 

15180 

13410 

13920 

14160 

15160 

13380 

13730 

13990 

15020 

13140 

13520 

13750 

15110 


MORGAN  SPRINGS  COAL. 


As  rec’d 
Air  dried 
Dry  coal 
Pure  coal 
As  rec’d 
Air  dried 
Dry  coal 
Pure  coal 


10731 

1.0 

2.2 

1.2 

10802 

5.0 

6.1 

1.1 





33.8 

53.4 

10.6 

3.5 

34.1 

53.9 

10.7 

3.6 

34.6 

54.6 

10.9 

3.6 

38.8 

61.2 

4.1 

27.8 

55.7 

10.6 

3.1 

29.2 

58.6 

11.1 

3.3 

29.5 

59.2 

11.2 

3.3 

33.3 

66.7 

3.7 

7360 

7435 

7525 

8440 

7070 

7445 

7525 

8480 


13250 

13380 

13540 

15200 

12730 

13400 

13550 

15260 


COAL  ABOUT  100  FEET  BELOW  THE  LOWER  CONGLOMERATE  MEMB  ER. 


As  rec’d  

10847 

1 

1 -7| 

1.6 

.9j 

:34.0 

34.2 

34.6 

137.1 

57.7 
1 58 . 1 

58.7 
62.9 

6.7 

6.7 

6.8 

1.6 

1.6 

1.6 

1 1-7 

I 1 

| 7935  14290 
| 7995 | 14390 
8070 | 14520 
8655 | 15580 

Air  dried  

Dry  coal  

Pure  coal  



1 



♦Sample  collected  from  coal  on  dump  and  not  in  the  usual  way  from  a mine  face. 
The  coal  had  been  exposed  to  the  weather  for  ten  months. 


Laboratory 

Number 

10696 

Map 

No. 

2 

Figure 

and 

Section 

Numbers 

Fig.  3 

DESCRIPTION 

Nelson  Coal.  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  New 

3 

Prospect  mine,  room  face,  third  left  heading,  ap- 
proximately 1,200  feet  from  mine  mouth. 

10697 

2 

Fig.  3 

Nelson  Coal.  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  New 

4 

Prospect  mine,  room  face,  second  left  heading. 

10698 

10699 

10692 

10693 

10690 

10689 

10799 

10800 

10801 51 

10915 

10916 

11050 

11049 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


Map 

No. 

2 

2 


13 


13 


13 


13 


F 


J 

I 

M 


N 


Figure 

and 

Section 

Numbers 

Fig.  3 
5 


Fig.  3 

6 


Fig.  4 
4 


Fig.  4 
3 


Fig.  4 

2 


Fig.  4 

1 


Fig.  9,  8 


Fig.  9 
9 


Fig.  10 

2 

Fig.  10 

1 


Fig.  10 
5 


Fig.  10 

6 


DESCRIPTION 

Nelson  Coal.  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  New 
Prospect  mine,  end  of  third  right  heading. 

Nelson  Coal.  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  New 
Prospect  mine,  end  of  main  heading,  between  1,500 
and  1,600  feet  from  mine  mouth. 

Richland  Coal.  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company. 

North  Pole  mine,  end  of  eighth  left  heading,  ap- 
proximately 3,000  feet  from  mine  mouth. 

Richland  Coal.  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company. 

North  Pole  mine,  end  of  seventh  right  heading,  ap- 
proximately 2,700  to  2,800  feet  from  mine  mouth. 

Richland  Coal.  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company. 

Craig  mine,  room  face,  fifth  left  heading,  approxi- 
mately 2,600  feet  from  mine  mouth. 

Richland  Coal.  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company. 

Craig  mine,  main  heading,  3,000  feet  from  mine 
mouth. 

Sewanee  Coal.  Sequatchie  Valley  Coal  & Coke 
Company.  One  and  one-half  to  two  miles  north- 
west of  Melvine,  country  bank. 

Sewanee  Coal.  J.  H.  Hale  & Son,  about  four 
miles  north  of  Litton. 

Uppermost  coal  in  Sewanee  group  of  coals.  Isaac 
E.  Thurman  heirs,  near  Stevens  Gap  road,  country 
bank. 

Sewanee  Coal.  State  land,  near  Herbert  post- 
office,  country  bank. 

Sewanee  Coal.  State  land,  near  Herbert  post- 
office,  country  bank. 

Sewanee  Coal.  Messrs.  John,  Oscar  and  Will 
Vaughn,  near  junction  Meadow  and  Cane  Creeks, 
ten  miles  west  of  Pikeville,  country  bank. 

Sewanee  Coal.  Messrs.  John,  Oscar  and  Will 
Vaughn,  near  junction  Meadow  and  Cane  Creeks, 
ten  miles  west  of  Pikeville,  country  bank. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


37 


Laboratory- 

Number 

Map 

No. 

Figure 

and 

Section 

Numbers 

DESCRIPTION 

10731 

G 

Fig.  11 

Morgan  Springs  Coal.  J.  W.  McFarland,  Cumber- 

1 

land  Plateau,  four  miles  west  of  Pikeville,  country 
bank. 

10802 

H 

Fig.  11 

Morgan  Springs  Coal.  J.  H.  Hale  & Sons,  four 

3 

miles  north  of  Litton. 

10847 

21 

Fig.  6 

Coal  80  to  100  feet  below  base  of  the  lower  conglom- 

erate.  T.  N.  Swafford,  J.  B.  Vaughn  and  L.  S.  Pope. 
Sample  collected  from  coal  on  dump  which  had  been 
exposed  to  the  weather  for  ten  months. 


*No  section  is  given  for  this  coal. 

An  inspection  of  this  table  of  analyses  brings  out  several  distinctions  be- 
tween the  various  coals  of  the  area.  In  all  the  samples  from  the  supposed 
Sewanee  coal,  the  coal  ten  feet  below  the  lower  conglomerate  member, 
and  the  Morgan  Springs  coal  the  moisture  content  reported  is  not  strictly 
representative  of  the  bed,  since  the  samples  were  collected  from  small 
prospects  or  country  banks  usually  within  short  distances  of  the  outcrop. 
The  first  eight  samples  were  collected  at  long  distances  from  the  outcrop 
in  large  commercial  mines  and  the  moisture  content  in  these  analyses  may 
be  assumed  to  be  normal  for  these  coals.  Excepting  in  analyses  Nos. 
10697  and  10699  on  the  Nelson  coal,  the  moisture  is  low,  and  in  the  case 
of  these  samples  the  high  moisture  content  is  not  easily  accounted  for. 
For  comparative  purposes,  the  moisture  content  in  the  “air-dried”  samples 
should  be  taken.  The  figures  for  moisture,  on  an  air-dried”  basis,  it  will 
be  observed,  are  rather  uniform  and  also  low. 

The  Nelson  coal  at  Dayton,  with  ash  ranging  from  approximately  14j4 
to  21  per  cent,  exceeds  in  this  respect  the  Richland  coal  in  the  same  district. 
The  samples  collected  from  the  mines  of  the  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Com- 
pany from  both  these  beds  are  excessively  high  in  ash  as  the  result  of 
spueezing  and  pocketing.  It  should  be  added  that  the  workings  on  both 
these  coals  are  in  a much  disturbed  zone,  particularly  those  on  the  Nelson 
bed.  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  normal  ash  in  these  beds  where  they  lie 
undisturbed,  as  to  the  west,  will  be  much  lower  than  in  the  above  analyses. 

The  coals  marked  “Sewanee”  along  the  Sequatchie  Valley  and  to  the 
west  contrast  strongly  in  ash  content  with  the  Nelson  and  Richland  coal 
near  Dayton.  The  ash  content  in  the  former  group  of  coals  is  in  general 
about  half  that  of  the  beds  near  Dayton.  The  Morgan  Springs  coal  is 
high  in  ash,  having  more  than  10  per  cent  in  each  of  the  samples  collected 
from  widely  different  places.  It  is  intermediate  in  ash  between  the  coals 
marked  “Sewanee”  and  the  Richland  coal. 


38 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


Sulphur  in  general  is  low.  The  Nelson  coal  makes  a splendid  showing 
in  its  low  sulphur  content.  The  Richland  coal  is  rather  high  in  sul- 
phur. The  Morgan  Springs  coal  contains  about  twice  as  much  sulphur 
as  the  Richland  and  more  than  four  times  that  in  the  Nelson  coal, 
and  the  possibility  is  suggested  that  this  may  be  due  to  secondary  en- 
richment from  circulating  water  in  the  overlying  massive  porous  sandstone, 
which  all  over  the  area  lies  near  the  top  of  the  plateau.  The  coal  below 
the  lower  conglomerate  (with  laboratory  number  10847)  is  comparable 
with  the  Richland  coal  with  regard  to  its  sulphur  content,  which  is  1.6  per 
cent.  This  is  three  times  as  much  sulphur  as  in  the  Nelson  coal  and  about 
twice  as  much  as  in  the  higher  sulphur  coals  of  the  group  denoted  Sewa- 
nee. 

With  respect  to  the  volatile  matter,  fixed  carbon  and  the  efficiency  of 
the  coals  of  this  area,  the  discussion  will  be  left  until  comparison  is  made 
between  these  coals  and  those  in  competing  fields  in  other  States  and 
in  other  fields  in  the  same  State. 

The  coals  of  this  quadrangle  may  be  used  for  steam  and  domestic 
purposes.  That  mined  from  the  Nelson  and  Richland  beds  by  the  Dayton 
Coal  & Iron  Company  on  Richland  Creek,  in  the  southeastern  part  of 
the  quadrangle  is  chiefly  coked  for  use  in  the  Company’s  smelters  near 
Dayton.  The  coal  of  this  area  is  apparently  adapted  to  coking,  if  judged 
by  the  ratio  of  its  hydrogen  to  oxygen  on  a moisture-free  basis.  This 
ratio  in  coal  from  the  Nelson  bed  near  Dayton  is  .83,  while  in  coal  from 
the  Richland  bed  it  is  1.11.* 

Comparison  With  Coal  in  Other  States — It  will  be  of  interest  to  com- 
pare the  analyses  of  the  coals  with  certain  West  Virginia  and  Pennsyl- 
vania coals  and  those  of  other  and  nearer  competing  coal  fields,  particu- 
larly so  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  bulk  of  the  coal  in  this  and  adjoining 
areas  to  the  west,  to  the  north,  and  to  the  northwest,  is  practically  in  a 
virgin  coal  field. 

In  the  samples  collected  from  the  Nelson  bed,  the  value  of  the  ratio  car- 
bon to  hydrogen  in  the  ultimate  analysis  of  the  air-dried  samples  is  14.97. 
The  value  of  this  ratio  in  the  case  of  the  Richland  coal  is  15.7.  These 
coals  therefore  fall  in  Group  G of  the  classification  proposed  by  M.  R. 
Campbell,  (a).  Other  coals  which  fall  in  this  same  group  and  which 
have  a carbon-hydrogen  ratio  very  close  to  the  samples  collected  in  this 


*According  to  David  White  (a)  practically  all  coals  with  a hydrogen-oxygen 
ratio  of  59  per  cent  or  over  on  a moisture-free  basis  seem  to  possess  the  quality  of 
fusion  and  swelling  necessary  to  good  coking.  Such  field  tests  as  were  made  by 
Pishel’s  method  (b)  indicate  in  general  that  the  coals  in  this  area  will  coke. 

(a)  White,  David,  Bull.  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  No.  382,  1909,  p.  71. 

(b)  Economic  Geology,  June-July,  1908,  pp.  265-270. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


39 


area  are  from  the  famous  Pittsburg  bed  of  Pennsylvania  and  West  Vir- 
ginia; the  Upper  Freeport  coal  of  West  Virginia;  the  Ansted  and  Powel!- 
ton  coals  of  West  Virginia;  the  No.  4 bed  near  Clarion,  Ohio;  the  Darby 
bed  of  southwest  Virginia;  certain  coals  of  Bell  and  Union  Counties, 
Kentucky;  and  coals  from  the  Cahaba  basin  of  Alabama.  The  analyses 
for  comparative  purposes  follow.  All  the  chemical  and  calorimetric  de- 
terminations are  based  on  mine  samples: 

(a)  Prof.  Paper  No.  48,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1906,  Pt.  I,  pp.  156-173. 

Am.  Inst.  Min.  Eng.,  Trans.,  1905,  XXXVI,  pp.  324-340. 


ANALYSES  OF  COALS  IN  OTHER  APPALACHIAN  STATES'. 


CONDITION  OF 
SAMPLE 

Lab.  No. 

Air  Drying 
Loss 

PROXIMATE  ULTIMATE  [calorific  Value 

Moisture 

Volatile 

Matter 

Fixed 

Carbon 

Xi 

01 

< 

j Sulphur 

Hydrogen 

Carbon 

1 Nitrogen 

Oxygen 

Calories 

B.  T.  U. 

1968 

2.9 

4.1 

1.2 

32.4 

33.4 

33.8 

37.5 

30.0 

30.5 

30.8 

33.4 

36.7 

36.8 
37.2 

39.9 

28.6 

29.1 

29.5 

32.2 

29.6 

30.2 

30.5 

34.2 

33.3 

33.5 

34.0 

35.8 

34.4 

34.8 

35.1 

36.5 
40.0 

41.2 

42.9 

46.8 

34.9 

35.6 

36.3 

37.5 

54.0 
55.6 

56.3 

62.5 

59.8 

60.9 

61.6 
66.6 

55.3 

55.5 

56.1 

60.1 

60.3 
61.2 
62.1 

67.8 

57.1 

58.2 

58.8 

65.9 
1 59 .9 
[60.3 

61.1 

1 64 . 2 

1 59 . 9 
| 60.5 
| 61 . 1 

63.5 
j 45 . 5 

1 46 .9 

1 48 . 9 

153.2 
[58.2 
[59.3 

1 60.5 
[62.5 

9.5 

9.8 

9.9 

1.6 

1.7 

1.7 

7370 

7590 

7685 

8530 

7775 

7915 

8000 

8645 

7815 

7845 

7925 

8500 

7745 

7865 

7975 

8710 

7485 

7625 

7705 

8630 

8030 

8075 

8185 

8610 

8190 

8270 

8355 

8685 

6950 

7150 

7460 

8125 

7860 

8010 

8175 

8445 

13270 

13660 

13830 

15250 

13990 

14250 

14400 

15580 

14060 

14120 

14260 

15300 

13940 

14150 

14360 

15680 

13480 

13720 

13870 

15540 

14450 

14540 

14730 

15500 

14740 

14890 

15040 

15640 

[12510 

12870 

13420 

14630 

14140 

14420 

14720 

15200 

Dry  coal  

Pure  coal  

As  rec’d  

4412 

1.8 

2.8 

1.0 

7.4 

7.5 

7.6 

1.2 

1.2 

1.3 

Air  dried  

Dry  Coal  

Pure  coal  

As  rec’d  

1088 

.4 

1.4 

1.0 

6.7 

6.7 

6.8 

1.6 

1.6 

1.6 

Air  dried  

Dry  coal  

Pure  coal  

As  rec’d  

1108 

1.5 

2.9 

1.4 

8.2 

8.3 

8.4 

OO  OO  00 

Air  dried  

Dry  coal  

Pure  coal  

As  rec’d  

1144 

1.8 

2.8 

1.0 

10.5 

10.6 
10.8 

1.0 

1.0 

1.0 

Air  dried  

Dry  coal  

Pure  coal  

As  rec’d  

1257 

.6 

1.9 

1.3 

4.9 

4.9 

5.0 

.6 

.6 

.7 

Air  dried  

Dry  coal  

Pure  coal  

As  rec’d  

1208 

1.0 

2.0 

1.0 

3.8 

3.8 

3.8 

.9 

.9 

.9 

Air  dried  

Dry  coal  

Pure  coal  

As  rec’d  

2208 

2.8 

6.8 

4.1 

7.7 

7.9 

8.2 

3.3 

3.4 
3.6 

Air  dried  

Dry  coal  

Pure  coal  

As  rec’d  

2323 

1.9 

3.9 

2.0 

3.1 

3.1 

3.2 

.3 

.4 

.4 

Air  dried  

Dry  coal  

Pure  coal  

1 


40 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA, 


ANALYSES  OF  COALS  IN  OTHER  APPALACHIAN  STATES. 


CONDITION  OF 
SAMPLE 

Lab.  No. 

Air  Drying 
Loss 

PROXIMATE 

ULTIMATE 

Calorific  Value 

Moisture 

Volatile 

Matter 

Fixed 

Carbon 

& 

Cfl 

<1 

Sulphur 

a 

© 

mi 

o 

>» 

K 

Carbon 

fl 

© 

St 

O 

2 

• 

Oxygen 

Calories 

£ 

b 

ffl 

2350 

1.5 

3.4 

35.9 

57.5 

3.2 

1.5 

7985 

14380 

2.0 

36.5 

58.4 

3.2 

1.6 

8110 

14590 

37.2 

59.5 

3.3 

1.6 

8270 

14880 

38.4 

61.6 

8550 

15390 

3678 

5.1 

7.5 

30.7 

57.3 

4.6 

1.0 

7495 

13490 

2.5 

32.3 

60.3 

4.9 

1.0 

7895 

14220 

Dry  r*r>a  1 

33.2 

61.9 

5.0 

1.1 

8100 

14580 

Pure  coal  • 

34.9 

65.1 

8520 

15340 

As  rec’d  

3499 

.8 

2.0 

30.7 

59.0 

8.41 

1.09 

4.94 

76.03 

1.68 

7.85 

7565 

13610 

Air  dried  

1.2 

30.9 

59.4 

8.48 

1.10 

4.89 

76.64 

1.69 

7.20 

7625 

13720 

Dry  coal  

31.3 

60.1 

8.58 

1.11 

4.82 

77.56 

1.71 

6.22 

7720 

13890 

Pure  coal 

34.2 

65.8 

1.22 

5.27 

84.84 

1.87 

6.80 

8410 

15190 

As  rec’d  

3744 

1.1 

2.6 

34.2 

60.0 

3.18 

.66 

5.32 

78.62 

1.32 

10.90 

8025 

14450 

Air  driad  

1.5 

34.6 

60.7 

3.22 

.67 

5.26 

79.49 

1.33 

10.03 

8115 

14610 

Dry  r.nal  

35.1 

61.6 

3.27 

.68 

5.17 

80.72 

1.35 

8.81 

8240 

14830 

Piirp.  r>nal  

36.3 

63.7 

.70 

5.34 

83.43 

1.40 

9.13 

8515 

15330 

As  rec’d  

3771 

.9 

2.7 

33.3 

58.2 

5.70 

.44 

5.20 

77.96 

1.52 

9.18 

7770 

13990 

Air  driad  

1.9 

33.6 

58.8 

5.75 

.44 

5.15 

78.67 

1.53 

8.46 

7845 

14120 

Dry  coal  

34.3 

59.9 

5.86 

.45 

5.03 

80.15 

1.56 

6.95 

7990 

14290 

Pure  coal  

36.4 

63.6 

.48 

5.35 

85.15 

1.66 

7.36 

8490 

15280 

As  rec’d  

3745 

1.1 

2.8 

32.6 

58.5 

6.23 

.87 

5.08 

76.55 

1.12 

10.15 

7700 

13860 

Air  dried  

1.7 

32.9 

59.1 

6.30 

.88 

5.02 

77.40 

1.13 

9.27 

7785 

14010 

Dry  coal  

33.5 

60.1 

6.41 

.89 

1 4.92 

78.71 

1.15 

7.92 

7915 

14250 

Pure  coal  

35.8 

64.2 

.96 

5.24 

84.11 

1.23 

8.46 

8460 

15230 

As  rec’d  

3034 

2.6 

3.7 

33.6 

59.6 

3.1 

1.2 

8000 

1 14400 

Air  dried  

1.1 

34.5 

61.2 

3.2 

1.3 

8210 

1 14780 

Dry  coal  

34.8 

61.9 

3.3 

1.3 

8300 

14940 

Pure  coal  

36.0 

64.0 

| 8585 

15450 

1 

Laboratory 

Number  Location 

1968.  ...East  Millsboro,  Westmoreland  County,  Pennsylvania.  Bull.  No.  290,  U.  S. 
Geol.  Survey,  1906,  p.  172. 

4412.  ..  .Pittsburg  bed,  two  miles  southwest  of  Connellsville,  Fayette  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. Bull.  No.  332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1908,  p.  219. 

1088. . . .Kingmont,  Marion  County,  West  Virginia,  Pittsburg  coal.  Bull.  No.  261, 
U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1905,  p.  53. 


1108.... Four  miles  southeast  of  Morgantown,  Monongalia  County,  West  Vir- 
ginia. Upper  Freeport  coal.  Bull.  No.  261,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1905,  p.  54. 

1144.  . . .Coalton,  Randolph  County,  West  Virginia.  Upper  Freeport  Coal.  Bull. 
No.  261,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1905,  p.  55. 


1257. . . . Ansted,  Fayette  County,  West  Virginia.  Bull.  No.  261,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey, 
1905,  p.  56.  x 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


41 


Laboratory 

Number  Location 

1208.  ...One  mile  above  Powellton,  Fayette  County,  West  Virginia.  Bull.  No.  261, 
U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1905,  p.  57. 

2208. . .  .Clarion,  Vinton  County,  Ohio.  Bull.  No.  290,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1906, 

p.  163. 

2323 .. ..  Darby,  Lee  County,  Virginia.  Bull.  No.  290,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1906, 

p.  196. 

2350. . .  .Straight  Creek,  Bell  County,  Kentucky.  Bull.  No.  290,  U.  S.  Geol.  Sur- 

vey, 1906,  p.  120. 

3678.  ..  .Sturgis,  Union  County,  Kentucky.  Bull.  No.  332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey, 
1908,  p.  160. 

3499. . .  .Gould  bed,  one  and  one-half  miles  southwest  of  Lovick,  Jefferson  County, 

Alabama.  Bull.  No.  316,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1907,  p.  114. 

3744. .  . .Falliston,  Shelby  County,  Alabama.  Bull.  No.  316,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey, 

1907,  p.  114. 

3771 .. .  .Helena  bed,  Acton,  Shelby  County,  Alabama.  Bull.  No.  316,  U.  S.  Geol. 

Survey,  1907,  p.  114. 

3745.  ..  .Thompson  bed,  Coalmont,  Shelby  County,  Alabama.  Bull.  No.  316,  U.  S. 
Geol.  Survey,  1907,  p.  114. 

3034.. .. Cane  Creek,  three  miles  north  of  Belle  Ellen,  Bibb  County,  Alabama. 

Bull.  No.  332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1908,  p.  52. 

On  a moisture-  and  ash-free  basis  the  amount  of  fixed  carbon  in  the  gen- 
eral run  of  the  coals  of  the  Pikeville  area  is  fully  up  to  the  average  of  the 
coals  from  various  other  parts  of  the  Appalachian  field  as  given  above. 
Indeed,  the  supposed  Sewanee  coal,  with  its  fixed  carbon  (on  a pure  coal 
basis)  of  more  than  70  per  cent  ranks  higher  than  these  coals.  Its  ash  is 
not  excessive  as  compared  with  the  coals  in  Table  No.  2,  and  its  sulphur 
is  low  when  compared  with  many  of  them.  The  efficiency  of  the  Pd<ce- 
ville  coals  as  indicated  in  the  column  headed  “calorific  value”  is  also  high, 
particularly  so  in  the  case  of  the  supposed  Sewanee  coal  from  the  Cumber- 
land Plateau.  The  somewhat  low  efficiency  of  the  Nelson  and  Richland 
coals  is  due  to  their  high  ash  content,  especially  in  the  cas:  of  the  Nelson, 
bed.  As  already  explained,  both  these  coals  are  in  a zone  of  structural 
disturbance,  and  farther  to  the  west,  where  the  beds  li  • flat,  it  is  probable 
that  their  ash  content  becomes  much  lower  than  that  shown  in  Table  No.  1. 


42 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


It  is  also  to  be  observed  that  the  determination  of  calorific  value  in  the 
case  of  the  Nelson  coal  is  based  upon  but  a single  sampp 

Compared  from  the  standpoint  of  fixed  carbon,  and  moisture,  the  coals 
of  the  Pikeville  quadrangle  are  of  distinctly  higher  grade  than  those  of 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Missouri,  or  western  Kentucky.  The  fixed 
carbon  of  those  given  in  the  group  named  Sewanee,  for  example,  along 
the  Sequatchie  Valley,  is  in  general  10  per  cent  above  that  of  the  run  of 
most  coals  in  Illinois  or  western  Kentucky.  The  contrast  is  less  obvious 
in  comparing  Indiana  coals  from  the  same  standpoint. 

If  the  comparison  be  extended  farther  east  in  the  Appalachian  trough 
it  is  found  that  the  fuels  of  this  quadrangle  rank  with  those  of  the  eastern 
bituminous  basins  of  Pennsylvania,  with  the  high-grade  bituminous  coals 
at  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Kanawha  field,  and  with  the  Elkhorn  coals  of 
eastern  Kentucky.  In  fact,  the  coals  west  of  the  Sequatchie  Valley  in 
this  quadrangle  are  comparable,  from  the  standpoint  of  fixed  carbon  and 
calorific  value,  ash-  and  moisture-free,  with  the  coals  at  the  western  edge 
of  the  New  River  coal  field. 

From  the  above  it  is  obvious  that  the  ■ smoke-producing  qualities  and 
chimney  waste  of  the  Pikeville  coals  will  be  much  less  than  those  of  most 
of  the  competing  coals  on  the  western  side  of  the  Appalachian  coal  basin, 
as  well  as  in  the  Eastern  and  Western  Interior  coal  regions.  The  coals  of 
the  quadrangle  are,  from  the  commercial  standpoint,  equal  to  any  of  the 
compared  Appalachian  coals  except  for  their  high  ash  content,  but  even 
with  this  handicap  the  samples  collected  compare  very  favorably  with  the 
competing  districts  mentioned  above. 

Comparison  With  Other  Tennessee  Coals — For  comparative  purposes 
also  the  following  table  of  analyses  of  Tennessee  coals  is  given : 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 

ANALYSES  OF  COAL  OF  OTHER  DISTRICTS  IN  TENNESSEE. 


43 


CONDITION  OF 
SAMPLE 

Lab.  No. 

Air  Drying: 
Loss 

PROXIMATE 

Calorific  Value 

Moisture 

Volatile 

Matter 

Fixed 

Carbon 

Ash 

Sulphur 

Calories 

B.  T.  U. 

As  rec’d  

2907 

1.8 

3.7 

35.6 

55.9 

4.7 

1.3 

7670 

13800 

Air  dried  

1.9 

36.3 

57.0 

4.8 

1.3 

7810 

14060 

37.0 

58.1 

4.9 

1.3 

7965 

14340 

38.9 

61.2 

8375 

15080 

As  rec’d  

2929 

1.8 

4.3 

35.3 

56.3 

4.1 

.9 

7590 

13670 

2.5 

36.0 

57.3 

4.2 

1.0 

7730 

13920 

36.9 

58.8 

4.3 

1.0 

7930 

14270 

39.6 

60.4 

8285 

14920 

As  rec’d  

2931 

1.5 

3.6 

37.3 

55.7 

3.4 

.8 

7850 

14130 

2.1 

37.9 

36.5 

3.5 

.8 

7970 

14350 

38.7 

57.8 

3.5 

.9 

8145 

14660 

40.1 

59.9 

8445 

15200 

As  rec’d  

2956 

1.9 

3.3 

35.6 

54.5 

6.6 

7510 

13510 

Air  dried  

1.4 

36.3 

55.6 

6.7 

.9 

7655 

C 

oc 

t> 

07 

Dry  coal  

36.8 

56.3 

6.8 

7760 

13970 

Pure  coal  

39.5 

60.5 

8330 

14990 

As  rec’d  

2958 

1.3 

2.3 

35.4 

55.5 

6.9 

3.0 

7695 

13850 

Air  dried  

1.0 

35.8 

56.2 

7.0 

3.0 

7795 

14030 

Dry  coal  

36.2 

56.8 

7.1 

3.0 

7870 

14170 

Pure  coal  

38.9 

61.1 

8470 

15250 

As  rec’d  

2977 

2 . 7 

3.8 

30.7 

61.0 

4.5 

.8 

7880 

14180 

Air  dried  

1.1 

31.6 

62.7 

4.6 

.8 

8100 

14580 

Dry  coal  

31.9 

63.4 

4 7 

.8 

8190 

14740 

Pure  coal  

33.5 

66.5 

1 • ‘ 

8590 

15470 

As  rec’d  

2979 

2.0 

3.5 

34.7 

52.7 

9.1 

2.4 

Air  dried  

1.5 

35.4 

53.8 

9.3 

2.5 

Dry  coal  

36.0 

54.6 

9.4 

2.5 

Pure  coal  

39.7 

60.3 

As  rec’d  

3005 

1.9 

3.0 

34.7 

51.5 

10.8 

3.4 

7280 

13100 

Air  dried  

1.1 

35.4 

52.5 

11.0 

3.5 

7420 

13360 

Dry  coal  

35.8 

53.1 

11.1 

3.5 

7505 

13510 

Pure  coal  

40.3 

59.8 

8445 

15200 

As  rec’d  

3009 

2.0 

3.3 

31.7 

51.9 

13.1 

1.3 

6775 

12190 

Air  dried  

1.3 

32.4 

52.9 

13.4 

1.3 

6910 

12440 

Dry  coal  

32.8 

53.6 

13.6 

1.3 

7005 

12610 

Pure  coal  

37.9 

62.1 

8105 

14590 

As  rec’d  

2995 

2.3 

3.4 

29.2 

58.1 

9.2 

.7 

7345 

13220 

Air  dried  

1.2 

29.9 

59.5 

9.4 

.8 

7515 

13530 

Dry  coal  

30.3 

60.2 

9.5 

.8 

7605 

13690 

Pure  coal  

33.5 

66.6 

8410 

15130 

Laboratory 

Number  Location 

2907.. .. Fork  Ridge,  Claiborne  County,  on  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad.  Bull. 

No.  332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1908,  p.  225. 

2931.. .. Two  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  Gatliff,  Campbell  County,  on  the 

Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad.  Bull.  No.  332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1908, 

p.  228. 


44 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


Laboratory 

Number  Location 

2929. .  . .Gatliff,  Campbell  County,  on  Louisville  & Nashville  Railroad.  Bull.  No. 

332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1908,  p.  231. 

2956. . .  .Three  miles  north  of  Oliver  Springs,  Roane  County,  on  the  Louisville  & 

Nashville  Railroad.  Bull.  No.  332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1908,  p.  234. 

2958. . .  .Petros,  Morgan  County,  on  the  Southern  Railway.  Bull.  No.  332,  U.  S. 

Geol.  Survey,  1908,  p.  238. 

2977.  ..  .Three  miles  northwest  of  Waldensia,  Cumberland  County,  on  the  Tennes- 
see Central  Railway.  Bull.  No.  332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1908,  p.  241. 

2979..  . .Wilder,  Fentress  County,  on  the  Tennessee  Central  Railway.  Bull.  No. 

332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1908,  p.  244. 

3005. .  . .Clifty,  White  County,  on  the  Nashville,  Chattanooga  & St.  Louis  Railway. 

Bull.  No.  332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1908,  p.  248. 

3009.. .. 0.e  mile  north  of  Orme,  Marion  County,  on  the  Nashville,  Chattanooga 

& St.  Louis  Railway.  Bull.  No.  332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1908,  p.  255. 

2995 . .  . . Coalmont,  Grundy  County,  on  the  Nashville,  Chattanooga  & St.  Louis- 

Railway.  Bull.  No.  332,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  1908,  p.  252. 

The  coals  of  Claiborne  and  Campbell  Counties,  along  the  northern  edge 
of  the  State,  are  low  in  ash  as  compared  with  the  coals  of  the  Pikeville 
area.  The  coal  from  Fentress  County,  also  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
State,  is  lower  in  ash  than  the  Richland  and  Morgan  Springs  coal,  but 
higher  than  in  the  bulk  of  the  samples  labeled  “Sewanee.”  Farther  south 
in  Morgan,  Cumberland,  and  Roane  Counties,  the  ash  content  is  strictlv 
comparable  with  that  of  certain  samples  of  the  latter  coals,  but  in  general 
,the  ash  of  the  coals  of  the  Pikeville  area  is  higher  than  that  of  the 
counties  mentioned.  Still  farther  south,  in  Grundy  County,  which  ad- 
joins Bledsoe  County,  and  in  Marion  County,  ash  is  rather  high  and  com- 
parable with  this  constituent  in  the  Richland  coal  and  the  higher  ash  sam- 
ples in  the  supposed  Sewanee  coal.  The  White  County  coal,  according  to 
the  quoted  analysis,  is  higher  in  ash  and  sulphur  than  the  bulk  of  the  coals 
from  the  Cumberland  Plateau  in  this  area. 

Sulphur  in  the  coals  of  the  Pikeville  area  is  low,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Morgan  Springs  coal.  Most  of  the  samples  of  the  Richland  coal  show 
relatively  large  amounts,  but  this  coal  may  run  very  low  in  sulphur,  as 
indicated  in  analysis  No.  10693.  The  coals  of  the  area  compare  favorably 
with  those  of  the  other  fields  of  the  State  in  sulphur,  the  Nelson  and  cer- 
tain samples  called  “Sewanee?”  showing  less  sulphur  than  any  other  Ten- 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


45 


nessee  coals  thus  far  examined  in  the  laboratories  of  the  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey. 

With  reference  to  fixed  carbon,  on  a pure  coal  (he.,  moisture-  and  ash- 
free) basis,  the  coals  of  the  Pikeville  Special  quadrangle  rank  as  high  or 
even  higher  than  those  from  other  parts  of  the  State.  This  is  well  shown 
in  samples  from  the  supposed  Sewanee  horizon,  several  of  which  have 
more  than  70  per  cent  fixed  carbon,  while  none  of  the  samples  from  other 
Tennessee  fields  have  more  than  66.6  per  cent.  These  other  samples, 
moreover,  were  presumably  collected  under  more  favorable  circumstances, 
i.e.,  from  mines  and  not  from  near  the  outcrops.  The  efficiency  of  the 
Pikeville  coals  as  indicated  in  the  column  “calorific  value”  is  likewise 
above  that  of  the  other  Tennessee  coals  on  the  same  pure  coal  basis.  The 
deleterious  effect  of  ash  on  efficiency  is  shown  in  the  comparatively  low 
efficiency  of  the  Nelson  bed  already  alluded  to  and  in  the  same  manner 
on  the  coal  sampled  near  Orme,  Marion  County  (laboratory  No.  3009). 
The  ash  of  the  Richland  bed  is  also  high,  but  that  of  the  supposed  Sewa- 
nee coal  is  not  above  that  of  several  of  the  coals  in  other  parts  of  the 
State.  As  already  stated,  the  coals  of  the  area  compare  favorably  in  sul- 
phur with  the  other  coals  of  the  State,  while  certain  samples  in  this  area 
contain  much  less  sulphur  than  do  the  other  Tennessee  samples. 

LOCAL  GEOLOGY  OF  THE  COALS. 

In  the  description  of  the  local  stratigraphic  relations  and  the  physical 
characters  of  the  coals  of  the  Pikeville  Special  quadrangle,  Walden  Ridge 
and  Cumberland  Plateau  will  be  treated  separately,  precedence  being 
given  to  the  former  on  account  of  the  more  extensive  commercial  devel- 
opments along  its  eastern  escarpment.  The  coals  of  the  outcrop  zone, 
along  the  eastern  border  of  the  ridge,  will  first  be  given,  after  which  the 
data  relating  to  the  western  portion  of  the  mountain  will  be  presented. 


East  Side  of  Walden  Ridge. 

VICINITY  OF  DAYTON. 

Coal  in  Pennington  Shale — The  Penningtin  shale  is  coal-bearing,  but 
so  far  as  known  no  coal  beds  of  importance  occur  in  it  within  the  limits 
of  this  quadrangle.  In  Cranmore  Cove,  a mile  or  more  south  of  the  edge 
of  the  quadrangle,  a coal  said  to  occur  near  the  base  of  the  formation  has 
been  opened  and  is  now  worked  on  a small  scale  by  G.  H.  Burchard.  TH 
coal  has  the  sections  represented  in  figure  1. 


46 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


I 2 3 

4-" 

I" 

20" 

Fig.  1.  Sections  of  coal  in  Pennington  shale. 

1,  2,  3.  Openings  of  G.  H.  Burchard,  in  Cranmore  Cove,  oft 
edge  of  quadrangle. 

In  places  the  coal  runs  as  much  as  two  feet  in  thickness,  as  indicated 
in  section  (fig.  1,  3)  given  above.  The  coal  where  measured  is  not  far 
from  the  base  of  Walden  Ridge,  in  a region  where  the  beds  are  disturbed. 
It  is  subject  therefore  to  considerable  variation  as  the  result  of  rolls  and 
faults.  It  pinches  out  in  some  places,  and  in  others  reaches  a thickness  of 
five  or  six  feet.  Owing  to  the  thinness  of  the  bed  it  is  worked  by  remov- 
ing two  or  three  feet  of  under-clay.  The  lower  nine  to  twelve  inches 
of  the  bed  are  first  wedged  down,  and  then  the  upper  part  of  the  bed, 
which  is  harder  than  the  lower  part,  is  treated  the  same  way.  This  coal 
seems  to  correspond  closely  in  position  with  a bed  prospected  at  the  base 
of  Cumberland  Plateau  on  the  west  side  of  Sequatchie  Valley  near  Pike- 
ville.  It  will  be  referred  to  again  therefore  when  the  coal  beds  in  that 
region  are  described. 

Coals  in  the  Lookout  Formation. 

The  main  workable  coal  beds  of  the  quadrangle  occur  in  the  Lookout 
and  Walden  formations,  which,  as  already  explained,  belong  to  the  Potts- 
ville  group,  the  basal  division  of  the  Pennsylvanian  series.  Their  rela- 
tive positions  in  the  geologic  column  are  indicated  in  the  general  section 
No.  1,  given  in  Plate  II.  It  will  be  observed  that  there  are  nine  or  ten 
coal  beds  shown  in  this  section.  All  of  these  are  not  at  present  workable 
in  any  one  locality,  and  only  six  of  them  are  regarded  generally  as  work- 
able in  different  places  along  the  eastern  escarpment  of  Walden  Ridge, 
either  in  this  quadrangle  or  farther  south  in  the  direction  of  Graysville. 
Four,  and  possibly  five,  coal  beds  will  probably  be  found  to  be  persist- 
ently workable. 

GOODRICH  BED. 

Position — The  lowest  of  the  coal  beds  now  worked  in  the  quadrangle 
is  locally  known  as  the  Goodrich  coal.  It  occupies  a position  90  to  125 
feet  above  the  top  of  the  red  shale  (Pennington  shale),  along  the  south- 
east side  of  Walden  Ridge.  It  lies  within  thirty  feet  of  the  base  of  the 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


47 


Nelson  coal,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  thin-bedded  sandstone  chiefly,, 
but  in  places  by  shale. 

Extent  and  Development — This  coal  bed  is  only  locally  workable.  It 
has  been  observed  on  the  Stewart  property  (map  No.  1),  and  was  re- 
ported as  being  from  one  foot  six  inches  to  two  feet  thick  in  this  general 
region.  It  has  been  opened  near  the  incline  of  the  Dayton  Coal  & Iron 
Company,  at  the  point  where  the  road  curves  around  to  the  old  Nelson 
mine  almost  directly  under  the  trestle  (map  No.  5).  Here  it  is  twenty- 
five  feet  below  the  Nelson  coal.  Farther  to  the  southwest  and  just  below 
the  main  road  from  Dayton  to  Morgan  Springs,  this  coal  has  been  pros- 
pected, but  the  opening  is  now  caved  in.  After  crossing  the  Dayton- 
Morgan  Springs  pike  at  an  altitude  of  approximately  1,200  feet,  the  out- 
crop extends  to  the  northwest,  descending  rapidly  as  it  approaches  the 
head  of  Cranmore  Cove.  Here  it  has  ben  prospected  and  is  one  foot  six 
inches  thick,  as  shown  in  figure  2,  section  3.  It  does  not  outcrop  con- 
tinuously, as  its  course  is  interrupted  by  faults  with  a throw  in  one  place 
of  as  much  as  thirty  feet.  On  the  west  side  of  Cranmore  Cove  (near 
map  No.  10)  the  coal  has  been  prospected,  and  as  illustrated  in  figure  2y 
section  2,  it  has  a thickness  where  measured  of  twenty-four  inches. 

The  Goodrich  bed  has  not  been  identified  on  the  western  slope  of  Wal- 
den Ridge. 

I 2 3 


Fig.  2.  Sections  of  Goodrich  coal,  vicinity  of  Dayton. 

1.  General  region  of  Richland  and  Googee  Creeks.  (Map  4-10.) 

2.  West  side  Cranmore  Cove,  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  (Map  near  10.) 

3.  Head  of  Cranmore  Cove,  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  (Map  near  10.) 

Character — The  accompanying  sections  will  convey  an  idea  of  the  thick- 
ness of  this  bed  and  indicate  the  character  of  its  roof  and  floor,  which 
are  generally  shale  and  clay  respectively.  As  a rule,  where  best  known 
its  thickness  is  between  one  foot  six  inches  and  two  feet. 

NELSON  BED. 

Position — The  next  higher  coal  bed  is  known  as  the  Nelson.  It  is  the 
principal  coal  bed  of  the  Lookout,  and  one  of  the  most  important  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  quadrangle.  This  coal  is  generally  25  to  30  feet 
above  the  Goodrich  bed,  just  described,  and  from  125  to  150  feet  above 


48 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


the  uppermost  red  shale,  or  top  of  the  Pennington  formation.  It  occurs 
from  325  to  450  feet  below  the  Richland  coal,  or  the  top  of  the  Lookout 
formation,  and  is  usually  capped  almost  directly  by  a very  massive  sand- 
stone 20  to  40  feet  thick.  These  facts  should  enable  prospectors  to  locate 
the  bed  with  certainty  along  the  southeastern  escarpment  of  Walden  Ridge 
in  and  near  this  region. 

Extent  and  Development — This  coal  bed  was  named  for  J.  C.  Nelson, 
who  is  still  living  at  Dayton,  ana  who  opened,  in  1885,  what  is  now  known 
as  the  old  Nelson  mine  (map  No.  4),  which  has  been  closed  for  some  time. 
The  same  bed  has  been  opened  near  Stewart  Gap  on  what  is  known  as  the 
Stewart  property  (map  No.  1),  but  attempts  to  work  the  coal  on  a com- 
mercial scale  here  have  resulted  in  failure.  In  this  region  the  coal  dips 
northwest  at  the  high  angle  of  55°  in  places,  which  makes  it  a difficult 
and  consequently  expensive  bed  to  work.  Two  slopes  have  been  run  in 
on  the  coal  on  the  Stewart  property  to  distances  of  100  and  175  feet,  but 
they  are  now  filled  with  water  and  could  not  be  examined.  The  sandstone 
capping  the  Nelson  coal  is  very  massive  near  Stewart  Gap  and  forms  the 
top  of  the  hogback  southeast  of  Googee  Creek.  The  steep  dip  of  this 
sandstone  may  be  plainly  observed  near  the  upper  coke  ovens  of  the  Day- 
ton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  The  sandstone  with  the  underlying  Nelson 
coal  goes  below  drainage  near  the  upper  end  of  the  coke  ovens  and  the 
coal  is  worked  at  this  place.  It  has  also  been  opened  between  the  New 
Prospect  mine  (map  No.  2)  now  working  and  the  old  Nelson  mine  (map 
No.  4)  ; also  in  a number  of  places  between  the  old  Nelson  mine  and  the 
main  road  from  Dayton  to  Pikeville,  but  the  openings  are  fallen  in.  On 
the  east  side  of  Cranmore  Cove  there  is  a group  of  abandoned  openings 
as  indicated  on  the  map  at  an  elevation  of  1,320  feet,  known  as  the  Wil- 
liamson mines  (map  No.  8).  The  coal  bed  may  be  readily  followed  in 
this  locality  owing  to  the  presence  above  it  of  a massive  sandstone  50  feet 
or  more  in  thickness. 

The  Nelson  coal  descends  rapidly  to  the  head  of  Cranmore  Cove,  where 
it  has  been  worked  at  an  opening  known  as  Lower  Falls  (map  No.  9). 
The  beds  are  greatly  disturbed  here  owing  probably  to  the  influence  of  an 
overthrust  fault,  present  in  the  valley  farther  to  the  south.  On  account 
of  the  difficulties  experienced  in  working  the  coal  and  the  irregularity 
of  the  bed,  due  to  the  disturbed  structural  conditions,  the  mine  has  been 
abandoned.  The  coal  bed  rises  rapidly  to  the  southwest  and  has  been 
opened  in  a number  of  places  on  the  west  side  of  Cranmore  Cove.  The 
strike  of  the  beds  seems  to  be  approximately  east-west  in  Cranmore  Cove 
itself,  with  dips  from  8°  to  10°  to  the  north.  To  the  southwest  the  dips 
again  become  normal,  that  is  to  say,  northwest,  with  the  strike  about  N. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


49 


45°  E.  The  map  indicates  the  position  of  the  outcrop  of  the  Nelson  coal 
and  the  number  and  the  character  of  the  openings  on  it. 


2 V 
36" 


27' 


38' 


30" 


Fig.  3.  Sections  of  Nelson  coal,  near  Dayton. 

1,  2.  Stewart  property,  Stewart  Gap.  (Map  1.) 

3.  (Lab.  No.  10696)a\ 

4.  (Lab.  No.  10697) 

5.  (Lab.  No.  10698) 

6.  (Lab.  No.  10699) 

7.  8.  East  side  Cranmore  Cove,  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  (Map  8.) 
9.  West  side  Cranmore  Cove,  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  (Map  10.) 


New  Prospect  Mine,  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company. 
(Map  2.) 


Character  of  the  Coal  Beds : Physical — The  sections  given  above  in  fig- 
ure 3 illustrate  the  character  of  the  Nelson  coal  bed  in  the  vicinity  of  Day- 
ton  and  near  Stewart  Gap.  The  bed  consists  of  a single  bench  varying 
from  two  to  more  than  three  feet  thick.  Where  worked  at  the  New  Pros- 
pect mine  (sections  3-6),  of  the  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company  (map  No. 
2),  it  generally  consists  of  one  bench,  but  in  places  this  is  overlain  by  a 
thinner  bench,  as  shown  in  section  No.  3.  It  is  reported  that  the  Nelson 
bed  normally  consists  of  two  benches  in  the  valley  of  Richland  Creek, 
with  a parting  between  them  ranging  from  a few  inches  to  as  much  as 
twenty  feet,  and  that  either  of  the  benches  may  pinch  out  completely  and 
may  come  together  again.  Where  examined  at  one  place  in  the  New 
Prospect  mine  of  the  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company  the  roof  of  the  bed 
consisted  of  bone  or  laminated  shale  with  coal  stringers,  as  shown  in  the 
following  section : 


Section  of  Roof  of  Nelson  Coal  at  Point  in  New  Prospect  Mine. 


Clay  

Coal,  bony  

0-3 

in. 

Coal  

7 

in. 

Shale  

5 

in. 

Coal  

1 

in. 

Massive  shale  

7 

in. 

5 feet  11  in. 


50 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


To  the  southwest  in  the  direction  of  Graysville  the  two  benches  of  the 
Nelson  coal  come  together,  and  the  character  of  the  bed  both  on  the  east 
and  west  sides  of  Cranmore  Cove  is  well  shown  in  sections  7-9  (map 
Nos.  8 and  10).  The  upper  bench  varies  from  twenty-one  inches  to  two 
feet.  It  is  sometimes  bony  at  the  top  (see  section  8)  and  is  overlain  by 
shale  or  sandy  shale.  The  lower  bench  is  slightly  thicker  than  the  upper 
and  averages  24-25  inches,  where  measured.  Two  and  one-half  to  four 
inches  of  bone  are  present  between  the  benches.  In  many  places  this 
bone  has  sandy  streaks  and  pyrite  concretions  mixed  with  it. 

The  old  openings  on  the  Nelson  coal  in  Cranmore  Cove  have  been 
worked  by  the  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company,  but  all  are  now  abandoned. 
The  coal  bed  dips  very  steeply  at  all  of  the  openings  and  it  is  difficult  to 
to  work  it  for  this  reason.  Further,  it  is  somewhat  difficult  of  access  with 
reference  to  the  Company’s  coke  ovens  and  furnaces.  The  openings  on 
the  west  side  of  Cranmore  Cove  (Map  No.  10)  are  located  between  400 
and  500  feet  above  the  valley  floor,  on  a very  steep  hillside.  Though  the 
beds  dip  at  a very  high  angle  to  the  north  and  northwest  in  the  immediate 
locality,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  dips  rapidly  die  out,  and  far- 
ther to  the  west  the  beds  flatten  and  then  rise  very  gradually  to  the  west 
escarpment  of  Walden  Ridge. 

The  outcrop  of  the  Nelson  coal  on  the  east  side  of  Walden  Ridge,  is 
indicated  on  the  map,  PI.  I. 

Chemical — Four  analysis,  laboratory  Nos.  10696-10699,  of  the  coal 
collected  from  various  parts  of  the  New  Prospect  mine  of  the  Dayton 
Coal  & Iron  Company  (map  No.  2)  are  given  on  a previous  page.  The 
coal  has  a carbon-hydrogen  ratio  of  15,  considered  on  an  air-dried  basis, 
and  it  stands  therefore  closely  related,  so  far  as  its  content  in  volatile 
matter  and  fixed  carbon  go,  to  some  of  the  best  coals  of  West  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania.  It  has,  however,  an  abnormally  high  content  of  ash. 
The  moisture  and  sulphur  are  low.  The  coal  is  coked  for  use  in  the  Com- 
pany’s furnaces  at  Dayton. 


“angel”  bed. 

The  next  higher  coal  bed  known  to  be  fairly  persistent  in  the  quad- 
rangle in  that  underlying  the  lower  conglomerate  member.  This  is  an 
important  coal  in  the  Cumberland  Plateau,  where  it  is  sometimes  known 
as  the  “Angel”  bed.  It  may  be  locally  workable  along  the  southeastern 
escarpment  of  Walden  Ridge,  and  deserves  to  be  carefully  prospected. 
It  is,  however,  known  to  be  absent  in  places.  The  position  of  the  bed 
directly  below  the  lower  massive  cliff-making  conglomerate  (the  top  mem- 
ber of  the  Lookout),  above  which  occurs  the  Richland  bed,  should  serve 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


51 


to  locate  it.  Near  the  mouth  of  Googee  Creek  no  coal  bed  has  been  found 
immediately  below  the  base  of  this  conglomerate,  but  dark  gray  shale  is 
present  in  this  position. 

Coals  in  the  Walden  Formation. 

RICHLAND  (SODDY)  BED. 

Position — The  Richland  coal  bed  lies  above  the  lower  conglomerate 
member,  on  which,  in  some  places,  it  rests  directly,  though  in  others  a 
few  feet  of  shale  or  clay  intervene.  Locally  a few  feet  of  bony  coal, 
known  as  “rash,”  occurs  between  the  main  coal  bed  and  the  top  of  the 
conglomerate.  The  position  of  the  Richland  bed  above  the  massive  lower 
conglomerate,  which  has  a thickness  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
quadrangle  of  80  to  100  feet,  and  makes  prominent  cliffs  along  the  moun- 
tain side,  makes  it  easily  identified  and  located. 

Extent  and  Development — The  outcrop  of  the  Richland  coal  bed  in 
this  district  is  shown  in  the  map,  PI.  I.  The  bed  has  either  been  pros- 
pected or  opened  in  many  places  rather  close  together  on  Richland  Creek 
near  and  above  the  mouth  of  Googee  Creek.  Practically  all  of  these 
openings  are  now  fallen  in.  The  coal  is  worked  on  an  extensive  scale 
at  the  North  Pole  mine  (map  No.  13),  about  one  mile  above  the  mouth 
of  Morgan  Creek.  The  coal  has  also  been  opened  at  the  head  of  Cranmore 
Cove  at  the  Upper  Falls  mine.  This  mine  (map  No.  15),  like  the  Lower 
Falls  mine  on  the  Nelson  bed,  is  in  a zone  of  disturbance.  On  this  ac- 
count the  coal  is  irregular  in  thickness  and  the  dips  are  very  steep,  two 
factors  which  render  working  expensive.  These  circumstances  and  the 
long  haul  to  the  coke  ovens  above  Morgantown  caused  the  abandonment 
of  this  mine.  During  the  past  summer  the  old  tracks  which  led  to  it  were 
removed. 

Farther  south,  beyond  the  borders  of  this  quadrangle,  and  near  Grays- 
ville,  the  Richland  bed  was  formerly  mined  in  Roaring  Creek  (Monta- 
gue) Gulch  by  the  Fox  Coal  Company.  The  operations  of  this  Company 
have  been  suspended  for  a few  years,  though  the  coal  appears  to  be  of 
workable  thickness,  as  will  be  observed  from  section  6,  given  below  in 
figure  4.  It  is  reasonably  safe  to  conclude  therefore  that  in  the  intermedi- 
ate territory  between  Dayton  and  Graysville  the  Richland  coal  is  of  work- 
able thickness. 


52 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


1 2 3 4 5 6 


Fig.  4.  Sections  of  Richland  coal,  near  Dayton. 

1.  (Lab.  No.  10689),  North  Pole  Mine,  Craig  Workings.  Dayton  Coal  & Iron 

Company.  (Map  13.) 

2.  (Lab.  No.  10690),  ..orth  Pole  Mine,  Craig  Workings,  Dayton  Coal  & Iron 
Company.  (Map  13.) 

3.  (Lab.  No.  10693),  North  Pole  Mine,  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  (Map  13.) 

4.  (Lab.  No.  10692),  North  Pole  Mine,  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company.  (Map  13.) 

5.  Average  of  11  reported  measurements  at  different  prospects  on  Richland 

Creek,  about  Morgantown.  (Map,  near  12.) 

6.  Fox  Coal  Company,  Montague  No.  3 Mine,  Roaring  Creek  (Montague)  Gulch, 

west  of  Graysville.  South  of  quadrangle. 

Character : Physical — The  Richland  coal  bed  consists  of  a single  bench 
wherever  observed.  It  averages  two  feet  in  thickness  on  Richland  and 
Morgan  Creeks.  Its  roof  is  generally  shale,  but  farther  south  it  may  be 
bony  coal  or  dark  shale  with  streaks  of  coal  of  variable  thickness,  but 
usually  less  than  a foot. 

Chemical — The  series  of  analyses  Nos.  10692  and  10693  of  samples 
from  the  North  Pole  mine,  and  Nos.  10689  and  10690,  representing  the 
Craig  workings,  given  on  page  128,  indicates  the  composition  of  this  coal 
near  Dayton.  The  ratio  of  carbon  to  hydrogen  on  an  air-dried  basis,  • 
15.7,  places  it  in  the  same  class  with  the  Nelson  coal  and  some  of  the  \ 
better  coals  of  West  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania.  The  moisture  content  ! 
indicated  by  the  analysis  may  be  considered  normal.  It  varies  only  0.18  ; 
per  cent  in  the  four  samples  which  were  collected  from  different  parts 
of  the  North  Pole  mine,  several  hundred  feet  from  the  outcrop.  The 
ash  is  unusually  high,  probably  on  account  of  the  “pocketing”  and  “lami- 
nation” of  the  coal  in  this  vicinity.  The  sulphur,  though  higher  than  in 
the  Nelson  coal,  may  still  be  considered  low.  The  coal  is  coked,  the  pro- 
duct being  used  by  the  Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Company  at  the  Company’s 
furnaces  at  Dayton. 

COAL  BEDS  ABOVE  THE  RICHLAND  COAL. 

There  are  at  least  two,  and  possibly  three,  coal  horizons  between  the 
Richland  coal  and  the  Morgan  Springs  coal  in  the  southeastern  part  of 
this  quadrangle.  The  two  lower  coal  beds*  have  been  prospected  in  Mon- 


*Numbered  2 and  3 in  Section  No.  3,  PI.  II. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


53 


tague  Gulch,  south  of  this  quadrangle,  but  neither  of  the  coals  in  this  dis- 
trict exceeds  one  foot  in  thickness.  Under  present  conditions  they  are  too 
thin  to  mine.  A third  coal  bed  is  known  about  80  to  90  feet  below  the 
base  of  the  Morgan  Springs  coal.  It  is  usually  too  thin  to  work,  and  in 
most  of  the  sections  seen  it  is  either  absent  or  represented  only  by  a black 
shale  streak. 


MORGAN  SPRINGS  BED. 

Position — The  upper  cliff-making  conglomeratic  sandstone  on  the  east- 
ern side  of  Walden  Ridge  is  a most  conspicuous  member,  reaching  a thick- 
ness in  some  places  of  fully  100  feet,  and  containing,  particularly  near  its 
base,  conglomerate  layers.  This  conglomeratic  sandstone  covers  a broad 
area  in  the  Walden  Ridge  basin,  as  is  shown  on  the  map,  PL  I„  by  the  out- 
crop line  of  the  Morgan  Springs  coal  bed,  which  lies  directly  below  it. 
This  coal  has  been  opened  by  G.  W.  Morgan  at  the  road-side  just  east  of 
the  Morgan  Spring  Hotel  (map  No.  16).  It  has  also  been  opened  less 
than  a mile  to  the  northeast.  Its  “bloom”  shows  in  many  of  the  sections 
on  the  roads  in  the  vicinity,  though  it  is  not  always  present. 


I 2 


Fig.  5.  Sections  of  Morgan  Springs  coal,  near  Morgan  Springs. 

1.  G.  W.  Morgan,  Morgan  Springs.  (Map  16.) 

2.  Near  Morgan  Springs.  (Map  17.) 

Character — The  sections  of  this  coal  bed  (see  fig.  5)  show  that  it  is 
not  over  eighten  inches  anywhere  observed.  In  other  places  it  is  rep- 
resented by  a few  streaks  of  coal  associated  with  the  lower  part  of  the 
overlying  sandstone.  At  G.  W.  Morgan’s  bank  at  Morgan  Springs  post- 
office  (map  No.  16),  it  is  underlain  by  three  or  four  feet  of  underclay, 
but  this  thickness  is  exceptional,  and  the  clay  is  often  not  present.  Far- 
ther south,  in  the  hills  west  of  Graysville,  this  coal  bed  is  reported  to  be 
| a fine  block  coal  more  than  three  feet  thick.  In  Cumberland  Plateau  it 
is  present  and  in  places  is  thicker  than  where  observed  on  Walden  Ridge. 
Analyses  of  samples  of  this  coal  collected  from  country  banks  or  prospects 
on  Cumberland  Plateau,  are  given  on  page  129,  Nos.  10731  and  10802. 
Though  thin  where  observed  in  the  eastern  part  of  Walden  Ridge,  it  by 
no  means  follows  that  the  bed  should  be  neglected ; for  experience  with  it 


54 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


near  the  head  of  Sequatchie  Valley  and  west  of  Graysville,  shows  that 
it  thickens  locally  and  may  prove  to  be  an  important  bed  over  extensive 
areas. 

West  Side  of  Walden  Ridge. 

On  the  west  side  of  Walden  Ridge  the  lower  conglomerate  member 
forms  the  top  of  the  escarpment  in  places  and  its  base  is  found  some  dis- 
tance down  the  valley  side.  The  coal  beds  of  the  escarpment  on  this  side 
of  the  plateau  belong  therefore  in  the  Lookout  of  Hayes.  The  top  of  the 
lower  conglomerate  member,  forming  the  top  of  the  Lookout  formation, 
outcrops  almost  uniformly  to  the  east  of  the  edge  of  the  plateau,  and  this 
line  of  outcrops  is  indicated  on  the  map,  PL  I.  Along  this  line  and  just 
east  of  it,  the  coal  or  coals  occurring  at  the  top  of  the  lower  conglomerate 
should  be  looked  for.  The  term  “coals”  is  used  for  the  reason  that  al- 
though near  Dayton  only  one  coal  bed  (the  Richland)  is  known,  and  that 
resting  almost  directly  on  this  conglomerate,  to  the  west,  on  Cumberland 
Plateau,  there  is  a group  of  three  workable  coal  beds  in  the  first  hundred 
feet  above  the  lower  conglomerate  member. 

Columnar  sections  Nos.  4-7,  PI.  II,  show  the  character  of  the  strata  of 
the  Lookout  in  places  along  the  west  side  of  Walden  Ridge.  The  sections 
indicate  that  the  distance  between  the  top  of  the  red  shale  (Pennington 
shale)  and  the  base  of  the  lower  conglomerate  member  is  possibly  not 
so  thick  locally  as  in  the  vicinity  of  Dayton,  where  it  is  very  close  to  500 
feet. 

Coal  Bed  120  Feet  Below  the  Lozver  Conglomerate  Member — Only  two 
coal  beds  at  present  regarded  as  workable  are  known  below  the  lower 
conglomerate  member  in  this  part  of  Walden  Ridge,  but  as  many  as 
six  small  beds  are  known  to  be  locally  present  (see  columnar  section  No.  5, 
PL  II).  The  lowest  of  the  thicker  beds  is  that  occurring  120  feet  below 
the  base  of  the  lower  conglomerate.  It  has  been  opened  east  of  Pike- 
ville  by  I.  N.  Swafford,  John  B.  Vaughn,  and  L.  S.  Pope,  and  though  it 
is  not  thick  where  measured  (map  No.  22),  not  exceeding  a foot  in  thick- 
ness, it  was  reported  two  feet  in  thickness  farther  within  the  opening.  The 
inner  workings  were  inaccessible,  as  they  are  filled  with  water.  What  is 
probably  the  equivalent  of  this  coal  has  been  prospected  near  Dayton,  but 
the  opening  is  now  abandoned. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA 


55 


I 2 3 4 5 6 


Fig.  6.  Coals  in  Lookout  formation,  west  side  Walden  Ridge, 
and  east  of  Pikeville,  Tenn. 

1.  I.  N.  Swafford,  J.  B.  Vaughn  and  L.  S.  Pope.  Coal  120  feet  below  base  of 

the  lower  conglomerate,  below  Porch  Rock,  northeast  of  Pikeville.  (Map 

22.) 

2.  I.  N.  Swafford,  J.  B.  Vaughn  and  L.  S.  Pope.  Coal  80  to  100  feet  below  the 

base  of  the  lower  conglomerate,  below  Porch  Rock.  (Map  21.) 

3.  (Lab.  No.  10847)  *,  I.  N.  Swafford,  J.  B.  Vaughn  and  L.  S.  Pope.  Coal  80 

to  100  feet  below  the  base  of  the  lower  conglomerate,  below  Porch  Rock. 
(Map  21,  south  opening.) 

4.  5.  I.  N.  Swafford,  J.  B.  Vaughn  and  L.  S.  Pope.  Coal  80  feet  below  base  of 

the  lower  conglomerate.  (Map  25.) 

6.  I.  N.  Swafford,  J.  B.  Vaughn  and  L.  S.  Pope.  Coal  80  feet  below  base  of 
the  lower  conglomerate.  (Map  26.) 

* Sample  was  collected  at  a different  place  from  where  section  was  measured. 

Character — The  coal  bed  120  feet  below  the  lower  conglomerate  is 
represented  in  figure  6,  section  No.  1.  It  has  a shale  roof  and  is  under- 
lain by  34  inches  of  underclay.  The  fact  that  it  is  reported  two  feet  in 
thickness  at  the  place  where  measured  and  that  it  is  fairly  persistent,  as 
indicated  in  the  first  three  columnar  sections,  PI.  II,  measured  at  long  dis- 
tances from  each  other,  recommend  this  bed  for  careful  atention,  though 
where  observed  in  the  road  sections  it  does  not  exceed  a foot  in  thickness. 

Coal  Bed  80  to  100  Feet  Below  the  Lower  Conglomerate  Member — 
Position — The  next  higher  workable  coal  is  usually  found  less  than  100 
feet  below  the  base  of  the  lower  conglomerate.  In  the  section  east  of 

Pikeville,  near  Porch  Rock  (map  No.  21),  this  distance  was  determined 

by  the  hand  level  to  be  80  feet.  The  coal  near  Porch  Rock  is  located 

almost  directly  on  the  top  of  the  first  sandstone  below  the  base  of  the 

lower  conglomerate. 

Character — The  sections  Nos.  2 and  3,  shown  in  figure  6,  indicate  the 
thickness  and  character  of  the  coal.  In  places  it  consists  of  two  benches 
and  in  others  of  but  a single  bench.  Where  two  benches  are  present 
the  upper  varies  from  seven  to  eighteen  inches,  and  is  separated  by  a bone 
parting  one-half  to  three  inches  thick  from  the  lower  bench.  The  latter 
varies  from  fourteen  inches  to  twenty-seven  inches,  and,  where  observed, 


56 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


particularly  south  of  Fraley  Gap  road  (map  No.  26),  is  an  important  coal 
bed  by  itself.  The  coal  indicated  in  section  6 measured  three  and  one-half 
feet.  It  is  known,  however,  that  the  bed  is  irregular  in  places,  as  six 
feet  of  coal  were  observed  at  an  old  bank  south  of  the  Fraley  Gap  road, 
whereas  not  far  away  the  bed  pinched  out  almost  to  nothing.  It  has  a shale 
or  sandstone  roof,  with  a streak  of  bone  at  its  top,  in  places,  and  is  under- 
lain by  clay,  sandstone,  or  sandy  clay.  The  under  clay,  when  present,  is 
thin  and  passes  into  sandstone.  The  coal  in  the  upper  bench  is  block  coal. 
Though  the  bed  is  somewhat  variable  in  thickness  and  in  the  number  of 
its  benches,  it  is,  all  factors  considered,  to  be  reckoned  as  one  of  the  po- 
tentially valuable  coal  beds,  locally,  along  the  east  side  of  Sequatchie  Val- 
ley. 

Chemical — The  composition  of  this  coal  (laboratory  No.  10847)  is 
much  like  that  of  the  other  coals  given  in  the  table  on  page  129.  The  ma- 
terial of  the  sample  was  not  collected  in  the  usual  way,  but  was  taken  at 
random  from  coal  on  the  dump  which  had  been  exposed  ten  months, 
according  to  Mr.  I.  N.  Swafford.  The  coal,  after  this  long  exposure  in 
a country  of  abundant  rainfall  and  normal  season  changes,  looked  remark- 
ably fresh.  It  was  in  large  blocks  and  apparently  had  not  weathered  to 
any  appreciable  extent.  This  property  in  a coal  is  of  importance.  The 
analysis  of  the  coal  is  particularly  interesting  in  view  of  the  conditions  of 
exposure  and  sampling.  As  to  ash  and  moisture,  as  well  as  efficiency,  the 
sample  analyzed  and  tested  compares  very  favorably  with  the  other  coals 
of  the  region.  If  the  quality  of  this  coal  is  equally  good  where  the  bed 
is  thick,  it  deserves  careful  exploration. 

Coal  at  Base  of  Lower  Conglomerate  Member — There  is  a coal  bed 
at  the  base  of  the  lower  conglomerate  on  Walden  Ridge  as  well  as  on 
Cumberland  Plateau.  This  bed,  however,  has  never  been  developed 
in  a commercial  way  in  any  part  of  Walden  Ridge.  In  a section  on  Beatty 
Gap  and  on  Pitts  Gap  road,  just  off  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  quad- 
rangle, black  shale  or  coal  was  seen  in  this  position,  and  on  the  Pitts  Gap 
road  six  inches  of  coal  were  measured.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  coal 
in  this  stratigraphic  position  is  known  to  be  workable  in  Cumberland 
Plateau,  this  horizon  deserves  to  be  carefully  investigated  for  coal,  when 
systematic  attempts  are  made  to  exploit  the  workable  coal  beds  along  the 
west  side  of  Walden  Ridge. 

Richland  (f)  Bed — The  coal  overlying  the  lower  conglomerate  mem- 
ber is  developed  in  a few  places  where  the  top  of  this  stratum  comes  to  the 
surface  near  the  west  escarpment  of  Walden  Ridge.  The  facts  that  few 
people  live  on  this  ridge  and  that  the  residents  burn  wood  almost  entirely 
for  fuel  has  retarded  the  development  of  coal  beds  in  this  part  of  the  area. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


57 


The  Richland  coal,  or  one  of  the  group  near  the  top  of  the  lower  con- 
glomerate, has  been  opened  on  the  land  of  Will  Kerley,  just  east  of  Low 
Gap,  on  the  Spring  City  road,  off  the  northeast  corner  of  the  sheet.  The 
opening  was  made  fifteen  years  ago  and  was  fallen  in  when  visited.  To 
the  southwest,  on  Lick  branch  of  Moccasin  Creek,  on  the  land  of  Ander- 
son Thurman,  a coal  in  a similar  position  has  been  opened  in  the  bed  of 
the  creek.  Mr.  Thurman  reported  three  feet  of  good  coal,  with  no  part- 
ings and  with  a shale  roof.  Still  farther  southeast,  on  Coalbank  Creek, 
where  the  bed  has  been  opened  on  land  of  I.  N.  Swafford,  J.  B.  Vaughn, 
and  L.  S.  Pope  (map  No.  20),  the  coal  was  reported  two  feet  thick.  It 
will  be  evident,  therefore,  that  such  information  as  was  obtained  about 
this  coal  bed  indicates  the  westward  continuation  from  the  vicinity  of 
Dayton  of  a workable  bed,  probably  the  Richland,  near  the  top  of  the 
lower  conglomerate  member. 

The  drilling  that  has  been  done  on  Walden  Ridge  has  unfortunately 
been  concentrated  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Morgantown  and  Dayton, 
excepting  one  drill  hole  put  down  near  Henderson  Mill.  The  record  of 
this  hole  shows  two  thin  coal  "beds  25  to  30  feet  apart,  in  about  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Richland  coal.  The  approximate  position  of  outcrop  of  the 
Richland  bed  in  this  district  is  shown  on  the  map,  PI.  I. 

Coals  Above  the  Richland  Bed — A coal  higher  than  the  coal  group  di- 
rectly over  the  Lookout  formation  has  been  opened  on  Walden  Ridge 
west  of  Tanbark  postoffice,  on  the  waters  of  Moccasin  Creek,  on 
land  owned  by  Capt.  Sam.  Frazier  and  Mr.  Bird  Henderson.  The 
openings,  known  as  the  Day  coal  banks,  are  in  the  bed  of  the  creek  and 
have  long  since  been  allowed  to  fall  in.  The  coal  occurs  well  up  in  the 
measures,  175  feet  to  200  feet  below  the  Morgan  Springs  coal. 

General  Mining  Conditions  in  Walden  Ridge. 

In  considering  the  future  of  the  Richland  coal  or  the  group  of  coal  beds 
near  the  top  of  the  lower  conglomerate  member,  or  in  fact  all  the  coals 
in  Walden  Ridge,  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  the  structure  or  attitude  of 
the  formations.  This  has  been  outlined  before,  but  may  be  amplified 
here  owing  to  its  fundamental  importance  to  coal  men  who  may  exploit 
the  coal  beds  in  the  future.  It  can  be  stated  with  considerable  assurance 
that  the  dip  or  fall  of  the  lower  conglomerate  is  fairly  uniform,  pos- 
sibly not  greater  than  70  to  75  feet  per  mile,  from  its  outcrop  near  the  west 
edge  of  Walden  Ridge  to  a line  approximately  coincident  with  the  out- 
crop of  the  upper  cliff-making  sandstone  over  the  Morgan  Springs  coal 
along  the  southeast  edge  of  Walden  Ridge.  Southeast  of  the  outcrop 
of  the  Morgan  Springs  coal  the  beds  are  very  sharply  bent  upward,  are 


58 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


irregularly  bedded,  pinched,  or  swollen,  and  are  characterized  by  minor 
faults  and  folds.  For  this  reason  the  coal  beds  in  them  are  worked  only 
with  difficulty.  Patience  and  perseverence,  however,  in  working  through 
the  zone  of  high  dips,  which  probably  does  not  extend  for  more  than  one 
mile  from  the  extreme  southeast  outcrop  of  the  Richland  coal  group, 
will  probably  bring  developments  into  the  zone  of  gradual  western  rise  in 
the  beds. 

Cumberland  Plateau. 

Geology — The  general  geology  of  the  coal-bearing  formations  in  Cum- 
berland Plateau  is  essentially  similar  to  that  of  Walden  Ridge.*  The 
beds  of  the  Pennsylvanian  series  along  the  east  face  of  the  plateau  din 
strongly  into  it,  angles  ranging  as  high  as  25°  to  45°.  These  high  dips 
die  out  toward  the  northwest  within  a short  distance,  usually  less  than  a 
half  mile.  In  places  the  distance  is  greater  than  this,  but  it  is  never 
known  to  extend  so  far  west  as  the  line  marking  the  eastern  outcrop  of 
the  Morgan  Springs  coal,  and  will  therefore  rarely  exceed  a mile  in  ex- 
tent northwest  of  the  edge  of  the  plateau  escarpment.  Beyond  this  zone 
the  beds  are  fairly  flat.  A clear  conception  of  this  structure  in  Cumber- 
land Plateau  is  essential  to  successful  mining  in  this  region.  In  order 
to  avoid  working  down  the  steep  dips  of  the  coals  on  the  Seauatchie  Val- 
ley side  of  the  plateau  it  will  be  necessary  to  start  tunnelling  well  below 
the  outcrop  of  the  coals  and  to  reach  them  at  or  near  the  botoin  of  the  ba- 
sin, where  they  are  flat.  It  is  expected  that  the  position  of  the  axis  of 
the  syncline  or  basin  will  be  more  exactly  indicated  when  the  geologic 
structure  is  fully  described  and  illustrated  in  a later  report.! 

The  columnar  sections  Nos.  8 and  9,  PI.  II,  convey  an  idea  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  rocks  of  the  Pennsylvanian  series,  in  which  all  the  workable 
coal  beds,  excepting  one  which  occurs  in  the  Pennington  shale,  will  be 
found.  Six  coal  beds  have  been  worked  in  places  in  the  Pennsylvanian, 
and  it  is  possible  that  an  additional  coal  may  prove  to  be  of  value  locally. 
The  local  geologic  features  will  be  discussed  in  connection  with  the  de- 
scriptions of  the  various  coal  beds. 

COAL  IN  THE  PENNINGTON. 

Coal  occurring  in  the  Pennington  formation  has  already  been  men- 
tioned as  having  been  found  in  Cranmore  Cove  south  of  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  the  quadrangle. 

*This  statement  applies  only  to  this  particular  quadrangle. 

fThe  detailed  geology  and  structure  of  this  region  will  be  described  in  a folio 
to  be  published  by  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey.  As  the  final  field  work  for  that 
folio  is  not  yet  completed,  publication  will  probably  be  much  delayed. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


59 


On  the  west  side  of  the  Sequatchie  Valley,  about  three  and  a half  miles 
southwest  of  Pikeville,  or  nearly  one  mile  south  of  the  Penitentiary  Gulch 
(map  No.  47),  a coal  apparently  below  the  upper  group  of  Pennington 
limestone  has  been  faced.  It  is  so  thin,  crushed  and  laminated  as  to  be 
worthless.  The  coals  exposed  at  the  road-side  by  Mark  Blackburn’s 
house,  west  of  Pikeville  (map  No.  43)  ; on  the  land  of  Wm.  R.  Pope 
(map  No.  44)  ; about  one  mile  southeast  of  the  latter  point,  and  in  the 
ravine  back  of  G.  W.  Turner’s  house,  three  miles  north  of  Pikeville  (map 
No.  36),  though  low  on  the  mountain  slope  and  in  proximity  to  Penning- 
ton rocks  are  probably  situated  in  small  irregular  and  more  or  less  crushed 
synclmes  of  Pottsville  strata  lying  in  the  spurs  to  the  east  of  the  main 
escarpment  of  the  mountain. 

COAL  BEDS  IN  LOOKOUT  FORMATION. 

Basal  Lookout  Coals  in  the  Small  Foot-hill  Synclines  Belozv  the  Main 
Cumberland  Escarpment* — For  a portion,  at  least  of  the  extent  of  the 
Cumberland  escarpment  through  this  quadrangle  one  or  more  small  nar- 
row synclines  lie  in  the  base  of  the  mountain  and  east  of  the  main  es- 
carpment, to  which  they  are  practically  parallel.  A narrow  anticline, 
sometimes  sharply  bent,  separates  them  from  the  main  basin  of  the  moun- 
tain, while  several  transverse  folds  produce  a ruffle  or  a crimp  effect, 
breaking  the  synclines  into  small,  short,  spoon-like  basins,  each  of  which 
is  apt  to  serve  as  the  structural  basis  of  a synclinal  spur  or  knob  extending 
outward  from  the  lower  portion  of  the  main  escarpment.  Not  infrequent- 
ly the  coals  in  these  irregularly  buckled  basins  are  brought  so  low  as  to 
appear  to  lie  in  the  midst  of  the  Pennington  shale,  but  it  is  believed  that 
in  most  instances  and  wherever  the  coal  is  normally  of  workable  thick- 
ness the  beds  will  really  be  found  to  belong  to  the  Lookout  formation. 
On  account  of  the  great  buckling  of  the  beds  between  the  spurs  and  a 
thrust  from  the  valley  which  has  often  upturned  and  crushed  the  strata 
at  the  outer  ends  of  the  knob,  the  coals,  when  the  knobs  are  high  enough 
and  the  basins  deep  enough  to  contain  Pottsville  strata,  are  usually  dis- 
turbed, pocketed,  laminated  and  crushed.  Some  of  these  synclinal  spurs 
contain  no  Pottsville  beds,  others  contain  only  the  lower  portion  of  the 
Lookout  formation. 

It  is  probable  that  the  coal  exposed  in  a 50°  northwest  dip  at  Mark 
Blackburn’s  house  on  the  main  road  ascending  the  plateau,  west  of  Pike- 

*This  section  was  prepared  by  David  White  after  a review  of  the  field  conditions 
in  1912.  When  first  examined  the  bed  described  in  this  paragraph  was  thought  by 
Mr.  Phalen  to  be  in  the  Pennington. 


60 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


ville  (map  No.  43),  is  in  the  Lookout,  though  it  lies  so  near  the  Penning- 
ton that  unless  the  synclinal  character  of  the  spur  is  recognized,  it  would 
be  regarded  as  Pennington.  At  this  point  this  coal,  shown  in  sec.  2,  fig.  7, 
is  much  crushed  and  is  irregular  in  attitude.  A very  thin  coal,  perhaps 
belonging  to  the  same  bed,  is  seen  in  a little  gully  back  of  the  house  of 
G.  W.  Turner  (map  No.  36),  about  three  miles  north  of  Pikeville. 

A thicker  development  of  coal  in  one  of  these  small  basins  is  found  on 
the  land  of  Wm.  R.  Pope,  nearly  two  miles  west  of  Pikeville  (map  No. 
44).  Its  structure  is  shown  in  section  1,  figure  7.  At  this  locality  a drift 
was  driven  400  to  500  feet  on  the  strike  of  the  bed.  Work  is  said  to  have 
been  stopped  owing  to  lack  of  air. 

I 2 

Fig.  7.  Sections  of  coal  in  base  of  Lookout  formation,  west  of  Pikeville. 

1.  William  R.  Pope,  1%  miles  west  of  Pikeville.  (Map  44.) 

2.  On  public  road  west  of  Pikeville,  near  residence  of  Mark  Blackburn. 

(Map  43.) 

Character  of  the  Coal — The  coal  at  all  of  the  openings  noted  above  is 
crushed,  laminated  and  more  or  less  bony,  as  well  as  thin.  In  the  Pope 
bed  the  thickest  streaks  of  pure  coal  are  about  two  inches,  though  the  whole 
mass  of  intervening  shale,  bone  and  coal  is  over  five  feet. 

It  is  possible  that  in  some  places  pockets  of  coal  in  considerable  thick- 
ness may  be  found  in  these  lower  spur  basins,  but  little  is  to  be  expected 
of  the  quality  or  the  character  of  the  fuel,  while  just  as  often  the  beds 
will  be  found  to  pinch  out  and  disappear  instead  of  thickening.  The 
finding  of  this  bed  in  these  basins  is  of  value,  mainly  because  of  suggest- 
ing the  presence  of  a bed  of  coal  near  the  base  of  the  Lookout  under  the 
plateau,  where,  in  general,  it  will  not  be  disturbed  or  crushed.  It  will 
remain  for  future  drilling  to  determine  the  presence,  thickness  and  qual- 
ity of  such  a bed  under  the  Cumberland  Plateau  as  a whole. 

Beds  of  the  Plateau;  “Angel”  Bed  — In  that  portion  of  Cumberland 
Plateau  lying  in  this  quadrangle  the  lowest  coal  which  appears  worthy  of 
present  consideration  underlies  the  lower  conglomerate  member.  It  is 
known  by  some  as  the  “Angel”  bed. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


61 


Extent  and  Development — Two  openings  were  made  on  this  coal  about 
two  miles  slightly  north  of  west  of  Pikeville,  on  the  land  of  W.  R.  Pope, 
(map  No.  42).  The  coal  outcrops  on  the  old  road  lying  northeast  of  the 
new  road  from  Pikeville  to  Tipton.  Just  below  the  junction  of  the  Spen- 
cer-New School  road  northwest  of  Pikeville  an  opening  has  been  made 
on  this  bed  of  coal  (map  No.  38),  on  the  land  of  the  Sequatchie  Valley 
Coal  & Coke  Company,  which  operated  in  this  region  on  the  Sewanee  coal 
in  the  early  90’s.  Farther  northeast  on  the  side  of  the  Cumberland 
Plateau,  this  coal  has  been  opened  in  Wellington  Cove.  The  horizon  at 
which  this  coal  may  be  explored  is  shown  on  the  map,  viz : the  base  of 
the  lower  conglomerate  member,  PI.  I. 


12  3 4 


Fig.  8.  Sections  of  “Angel”  Coal  Bed,  Cumberland  Plateau. 

1,  2,  3,  4.  W.  R.  Pope,  2 miles  northwest  of  Pikeville.  (Map  42.) 

Character — The  sections  of  this  bed  given  in  figure  8,  show  that  it  is 
to  be  considered  among  the  possible  workable  beds  along  the  greater  part 
of  the  escarpment  of  the  Cumberland  Plateau  bordering  Sequatchie  Val- 
ley. Where  measured  at  the  W.  R.  Pope  openings,  a little  north  of  west 
of  Pikeville,  it  is  only  one  foot  four  inches  to  one  foot  seven  inches  thick. 
The  coal  has  a bone  roof  about  six  inches  thick,  above  which  is  shale. 
The  floor  of  the  coal  at  these  openings  is  clay.  A line  of  openings  on 
this  bed  was  observed  near  the  Pikeville-Tiptop  road,  where  the  bed  is 
reported  to  be  one  foot  eight  inches  to  two  feet  six  inches  thick.  The 
openings  have  been  abandoned  several  years,  and  this  information  could 
not  be  verified. 


COAL  BEDS  IN  THE  WALDEN  FORMATION. 

Sewanee  (?)  Coal — In  a hand-leveled  section  measured  west  of  Pike- 
ville, the  distance  between  the  top  of  the  lower  conglomerate  member 
and  the  base  of  the  next  higher  sandstone  is  93  feet.  This  section,  which 
is  part  of  the  long  section  given  in  PI.  II,  figure  8,  is  as  follows: 


62 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


Section  Above  the  Lookout  Sandstone,  West  of  Pikeville. 


Base  of  massive  sandstone.  Ft.  In. 

(a)  Coal  horizon. 

Interval,  principally  black  shale 30  6 

(a)  Coal,  main  Sewanee  (?),  opened  in  at  least  four  places 18-20 

Interval  45  9 

(a)  Coal,  probably  equivalent  to  Richland  bed 

Interval  15  3 

Top  of  lower  Conglomerate. 


There  are  in  the  above  section  three  coal  horizons.  The  lowest  (Rich- 
land or  Soddy)  coal  is  only  fifteen  feet  three  inches  above  the  top  of  the 
lower  conglomerate  (the  top  member  of  the  Lookout),  and  may  provis- 
ionally be  correlated  with  Safford’s  Jackson  coal.*  The  next  higher  coal, 
which  is  tentatively  identified  as  the  “Main  Sewanee”t  appears  to  be  the 
most  important  coal  bed  in  the  section  west  of  Pikeville,  as 
nearly  as  can  be  judged  from  the  available  information.  What 
is  regarded  as  the  equivalent  of  the  latter  coal  has  been  opened 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Penitentiary  Gulch  almost  due  west  of 
Pikeville  (Map  No.  45)  on  land  of  the  Sequatchie  Valley  Coal  & 
Coke  Company,  now  in  charge  of  John  C.  Miers,  of  Pikeville.  Farther 
south  along  the  side  of  the  plateau  on  land  of  the  David  A.  Cleage  heirs 
(map  No.  48)  where  the  coal  has  been  prospected,  the  bed  lies  about 
thirty  feet  above  the  top  of  the  conglomerate,  a much  less  distance  than 
at  the  point  last  mentioned.  On  the  Cleage  property  the  bed  is  located 
about  half  way  between  the  top  of  the  lower  conglomerate  member  and 
the  next  higher  sandstone,  which  here  are  only  sixty  feet  apart.  North 
of  the  main  Pikeville-Tiptop  road  there  is  indicated  on  the  map  a line 
of  prospects  on  this  coal  (map  No.  37)  on  land  of  the  Sequatchie  Valley 
Coal  & Coke  Company.  The  distance  of  the  bed  above  the  lower  con- 
glomerate here,  and  its  relations  to  the  other  coal  beds  in  the  section,  have 
been  given  above.  The  bed  here  is  only  eighteen  to  twenty  inches  thick. 
Farther  northwest  on  the  same  Company’s  land  (map  No.  35)  this  coal 
has  been  mined  and  a spur  track  was  built  from  Pikeville  to  the  mine. 
Operations  ceased  here  in  1893.  The  mine  opening  was  made  well  be- 
low the  outcrop  of  the  coal  to  intercept  it  on  the  dip,  which  accounts  for 
the  position  of  the  mine  symbol  well  below  the  top  of  the  conglomerate 
on  the  map,  PI.  I,  No.  35,  The  bed  here  (see  fig.  9,  sections  5,  6 and  7) 

(a)  These  three  coals  will  be  regarded  for  convenience*  as  constituting  the  Se- 
wanee group  of  coals. 

*Safford,  J.  M.,  Geology  of  Tennessee,  1869,  p.  381. 

tlbid,  pp.  369,  380. 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


63 


is  twenty-six  and  one-half  feet  below  the  base  of  the  next  higher  sand- 
stone, or  about  the  same  distance  as  at  the  exposure  near  the  Pikeville- 
Tiptop  road.  The  coal  has  been  opened  on  the  Big  Spring  Gap  road  and 
is  reported  workable  there.  The  approximate  line  of  outcrop  of  this  bed 
is  indicated  on  the  map,  PI.  I,  by  the  line  tracing  the  top  of  the  Lookout 
formation. 

A series  of  openings  on  the  supposed  Sewanee  coal  bed  was  visited  by 
H.  G.  Hart  off  the  north  edge  of  this  quadrangle  along  the  west  side  of 
Sequatchie  Valley.  In  Boston  Cove,  about  two  miles  northwest  of  Mel- 
vine,  the  coal  has  been  opened  on  land  of  the  I.  E.  Thurman  heirs,  but  the 
mineral  interest  has  been  sold  to  J.  C.  Miers,  of  Pikeville.  The  coal  is 
two  feet  six  inches  thick  (figure  9,  section  S).  Still  further  northeast 
this  bed  has  been  opened  and  worked  in  a small  way  on  land  belonging 
to  the  same  estate.  Near  the  edge  of  the  plateau  and  still  farther  to  the 
northeast  the  same  bed  is  again  opened  on  the  land  of  J.  H.  Hale  & Son, 
of  Litton,  Tennessee.  The  coal  is  more  than  five  feet  thick  at  the  Hale 
opening,  according  to  Mr.  Hart,  and  is  of  good  quality.  However,  it 
is  known  that  in  part  of  the  intermediate  territory  the  coal  is  not  thick 
and  possibly  is  not  present  at  ail.  On  the  Browns  Gap  road,  for  example, 
west  of  Melvine,  in  a well  exposed  section,  the  coal  is  not  seen,  and  to  the 
north  in  the  Stevens  Gap  road  it  measures  only  six  inches.  In  spite  of 
this  irregularity  this  must  be  reckoned  as  one  of  the  most  important  coal 
beds  in  the  Cumberland  Plateau. 


I 


2 3 


4 5 6-7 


Q 9 


1,  2,  3.  David  A.  Cleage’s  heirs’  estate,  3 miles  southwest  of  Pikeville.  (Map 
48.) 

4.  Sequatchie  Valley  Coal  & Coke  Company,  Penitentiary  Gulch.  (Map  45.) 

5,  6,  7.  Sequatchie  Valley  Coal  & Coke  Company,  iy2  miles  north  of  Pikeville. 

(Map  35.) 

8.  (Lab.  No.  10799),  I.  E.  Thurman’s  heirs’  land,  Sequatchie  Valley  Coal  & 

Coke  Company,  lessee,  iy  miles  west  of  Melvin,  off  map.  Observation 
and  correlation  by  H.  G.  Hart.  Sample  collected  by  H.  G.  Hart,  also. 

9.  (Lab.  No.  10800),  J.  H.  Hale  & Son,  4 miles  north  of  Litton,  off  map.  Ob- 

servation, correlation  and  collection  of  sample  by  H.  G.  Hart. 


64 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


Character — The  series  of  sections  given  in  figure  9 indicates  the  char- 
acter of  this  coal  bed  along  the  east  side  of  Cumberland  Plateau.  At  the 
openings  on  the  estate  of  David  A.  Cleage,  about  three  miles  southwest 
of  Pikeville  (sections  1-3,  figure  9,  and  map  No.  48),  the  coal  is  present 
in  a single  bench  and  varies  from  about  two  to  three  feet  in  thickness. 
Farther  northwest,  in  the  Penitentiary  Gulch,  the  main  bench  of  the  coal 
on  the  land  of  the  Sequatchie  Valley  Coal  & Coke  Company  (figure  9, 
section  4,  and  map  No.  45)  is  two  feet  six  inches  thick,  but  there  is  more 
coal  above,  as  the  following  detailed  sections  measured  within  a short 
distance  of  each  other  show : 


Sections  of  Sequatchie  Valley  Coal  & Coke  Company  Prospects, 
Penitentiary  Gulch  (Map  No.  45). 

I. 


Coal  6 

Shale,  with  coal  streaks 1 11 

Shale,  with  coal  streaks 6 

Shale  4 

Coal  1 3 

Shale,  with  coal  streaks 7 

Shale  1 10 

Coal  (main  bed) 2 6 

Clay  


13 

1 

II. 

Ft. 

In. 

Shale  

5 

Coal  

1 

Shale  

2 

Coal  (main  bed) 

Clay  

2 

6 

10  , 6 

Northwest  of  Pikeville,  near  the  Pikeville-Tiptop  road  (map  No.  37) 
this  coal  bed  is  reported  two  feet  thick  on  land  of  the  Sequatchie  Coal  & 
Coke  Company.  Farther  northeast,  on  land  of  the  same  Company  (map 
No.  35),  the  coal  is  from  twenty  inches  to  two  and  one-half  feet  thick, 
with  shale  above  and  ganister  or  clay  below.  Sections  of  the  bed  in  the 
latter  place  are  given  in  figure  9,  Nos.  5,  6 and  7.  Farther  northwest,  on 
the  land  of  I.  E.  Thurman’s  heirs,  now  leased  to  Mr.  J.  C.  Miers,  the  coal 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


65 


has  been  opened,  and  measures  thirty  inches.  Four  miles  north  of  Litton 
the  bed  measures  five  feet  six  inches  on  the  land  of  J.  H.  Hale  & Son 
(figure  9,  section  9),  where  it  is  overlain  with  black  shale. 

Chemical — Analyses  of  this  coal  as  described  above  are  given  on  page 
128  (see  Nos.  10799,  10800  and  10801).  As  will  be  observed  on  inspec- 
ing  the  table,  the  moisture  is  low  when  it  is  considered  that  the  coals  were 
sampled  near  their  outcrop,  while  on  the  other  hand  the  ash  content  is 
not  higher  than  that  of  many  of  the  coals  of  competing  regions.  The 
low  sulphur  of  the  fuel  is  characteristic  of  most  of  the  Southern  Appa- 
lachian coals.  The  heating  value  of  the  coal  is  comparable  with  that  of 
the  other  coals  represented  in  the  table. 

Sewanee  (?)  Bed  West  and  Northwest  of  the  Quadrangle — Off  the 
northwest  edge  of  this  quadrangle,  about  four  miles  directly  north  of 
Saratoga  Springs,  the  supposed  Sewanee  coal  bed  has  been  opened  at 
several  places  near  Herbert  postoffice,  on  State  land,  in  charge  of  Mr. 
Thomas  E.  Vaughn.  Six  openings  at  least  have  been  made  within  a 
radius  of  two  miles  of  Herbert,  and  the  coal  where  measured  or  reported 
in  this  vicinity  is  of  workable  thickness.  The  relationships  of  the  bed 
in  this  region  are  indicated  in  columnar  sections  10,  11  and  12,  PL  II. 
As  a rule  the  coal  is  found  in  the  midst  of  a shale  member,  eighty  feet 
thick.  Above  this  shale  occurs  a conglomerate  or  sandstone  over  fifty 
feet  in  thickness,  which  caps  the  low  hills  of  the  region.  About  forty 
feet  below  the  coal  occurs  another  conglomerate  sandstone,  at  the  present 
time  regarded  as  the  lower  conglomerate  member,  the  top  of  which  shows 
in  the  bed  of  Glade  and  Cane  creeks.  The  coal  is  reported  to  be  between 
five  and  six  feet  in  thickness  in  some  places.  At  one  of  the  openings  six 
feet  of  coal  was  measured  beneath  a black  shale  roof,  but  the  whole 
of  the  bed,  said  to  measure  seven  feet  four  inches,  was  not  seen.  The 
writer  is  somewhat  in  doubt  as  to  whether  this  thick  coal  bed  is  the  main 
Sewanee  coal  or  the  Richland  bed,  which  rests  very  near  or  directly  on 
the  lower  conglomerate.  In  the  case  of  the  coal  at  the  other  openings, 
however,  no  such  question  arises,  as  the  coal  in  each  place  appears  to  be 
clearly  well  above  the  top  of  the  Lookout. 

On  the  headwaters  of  Caney  Creek,  about  ten  miles  west  of  Pikeville, 
the  Sewanee  coal  has  been  opened  in  a number  of  places  near  the  con- 
fluence of  Caney  Creek  and  Meadow  Creek,  on  the  land  of  Messrs.  J.  B., 
Oscar  and  Will  Vaughn,  of  Pikeville.  The  prospects  in  every  instance 
are  located  near  creek  level  in  such  position  that  they  may  be  readily  and 
cheaply  worked  by  drifts.  The  coal  may  be  easily  reached  by  railroad 
built  up  Caney  Creek.  The  coal  at  the  Vaughn  Brothers’  prospects  ap- 
pear to  be  of  uniform  and  excellent  quality  throughout  its  thickness. 


66 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


The  existence  of  this  coal  bed,  both  to  the  northwest  and  west  of  the 
Pikeville  quadrangle  in  workable  thickness  and  of  good  quality,  together 
with  its  known  workability  along  most  of  the  eastern  edge  of  Cumberland 
Plateau  within  the  quadrangle,  strongly  suggests  that  a large  acreage  of 
excellent  coal  underlies  this  general  region,  which  in  the  future  must  prove 
of  great  value  to  this  part  of  Tennessee. 


12  3 4 5 6 


FIG.  10.  Sections  of  Sewanee  coal  northwest  and  west  of  quadrangle. 

1.  (Lab.  No.  10916),  State  land,  near  Herbert,  off  northwestern  corner  of 

quadrangle.  Thomas  E.  Vaughn  in  charge. 

2.  (Lab.  No.  10915),  State  land,  near  Herbert,  off  northwestern  corner  of 

quadrangle.  Thomas  E.  Vaughn  in  charge. 

3.  4.  Vaughn  Bros.,  Pikeville,  Tenn.,  owners.  Cane  Creek,  above  junction  of 

Meadow  and  Cane  creeks. 

5.  (Lab.  No.  11050),  Vaughn  Bros.,  Pikeville,  Tenn.,  owners.  Cane  Creek, 

above  junction  of  Meadow  and  Cane  Creek. 

6.  (Lab.  No.  11049),  Vaughn  Bros.,  Pikeville,  Tenn.,  owners.  Cane  Creek, 

above  junction  of  Meadow  and  Cane  creeks. 

Physical  Character — By  reference  to  figure  10,  sections  1 and  2,  the  char- 
acter of  the  coal  bed  seen  near  Herbert  postoffice  is  evident.  Where 
measured,  it  varies  from  three  feet  three  inches  to  more  than  six  feet, 
but  according  to  report,  it  may  in  places  be  as  thick  as  seven  feet  four 
inches.  It  is  capped  by  shale  and  underlain  by  shale  or  clay. 

At  the  Vaughn  prospects  the  bed  varies  from  three  feet  two  inches  to 
four  feet  three  inches  at  the  four  openings  visited.  The  sections  Nos. 
3-6,  figure  10,  show  the  character  of  this  coal  bed  at  this  locality.  It  con- 
sists, where  seen,  of  a single  bench  overlain  by  a compact  massive  shale 
and  underlain  by  clay. 

Chemical  Characters — By  reference  to  the  table  of  analyses,  Nos.  10915, 
10916,  11049  and  11050,  given  on  page  129,  the  character  of  the  coal  re- 
garded as  the  Sewanee  bed  in  the  region  under  discussion  is  apparent. 
The  analyses  require  little  comment.  The  fact  that  the  samples  were  in 
every  case  collected  comparatively  near  the  outcrop  of  the  coal  bed  which 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


67 


has  been  practically  exposed  to  the  weather  for  many  months  will  suffi- 
ciently account  for  the  rather  high  percentage  of  moisture,  namely  3.44 
to  5.32  per  cent.  In  the  percentages  of  volatile  matter,  fixed  carbon,  and 
ash  the  samples  average  with  the  other  coals  tested  in  this  general  region. 
The  sulphur  is  low,  even  for  the  area.  Taken  as  a whole,  the  observations 
both  of  the  physical  and  chemical  characters  of  this  coal  indicate  that  it 
is  of  high  grade. 

Next  Higher  Bed  of  the  Sewanee  Group  of  Coals — The  next  higher 
coal  in  the  Sewanee  group  of  coals  lies  at  the  base  of  the  sandstone  next 
above  the  lower  conglomerate  member.  On  the  Stevens  Gap  road, 
just  off  the  north  edge  of  this  quadrangle,  it  measures  three  feet  six  inches 
of  coal,  with  shale  above  and  clay  below. 

Character — Analyses  No.  10801  in  the  table  on  page  128,  indlicates  a 
character  comparable  to  that  of  the  other  coals  of  Ibis  area. 

I-Iigher  Beds,  Including  the  Morgan  Springs  Coal. 

Two  higher  coal  beds  are  known  within  the  limits  of  the  quadrangle 
in  the  basin  northwest  of  Pikeville.  The  location  of  a few  prospects  on 
them  is  given  on  Plate  I,  map  Nos.  30-34.  As  indicated  in  columnar  sec- 
tion 8,  Plate  II,  they  are  located  in  the  interval  of  200  to  300  feet  above 
the  lower  conglomerate  member,  and  the  lowest  is  about  360  feet  below 
the  Morgan  Springs  coal  bed.  They  have  been  opened  in  a few  places, 
but  very  little  work  was  done,  and  the  prospects  are  now  abandoned,  and 
inaccessible. 


I 2 3 


Fig.  11.  Sections  of  Morgan  Springs  Coal  in  Cumberland  Plateau. 

1.  (Lab.  No.  10731),  J.  W.  McFarland,  4 miles  west  of  Pikeville,  off  map. 

Observations,  correlation  and  collection  of  sample  by  H.  G.  Hart. 

2.  Sequatchie  Valley  Coal  & Coke  Company,  2i^  miles  northwest  of  Pikeville. 

(Map  40.) 

3.  (Lab.  No.  10802),  J.  H.  Hale  & Son,  4 miles  north  of  Litton,  off  map.  Ob- 

servation, correlation  and  collection  of  sample  by  H.  G.  Hart. 

The  highest  important  coal  bed  in  Cumberland  Plateau  is  the  Morgan 
Springs  bed,  which  lies  immediately  below  the  upper  great  cliff-making 


68 


COAL  OF  PIKEVILLE  AREA. 


conglomeratic  sandstone  of  the  high  plateau  mesas.  It  has  been  opened 
by  J.  W.  McFarland  just  off  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  quadrangle, 
where  it  measures  twenty-two  inches  in  thickness.  Farther  northeast, 
and  two  and  one-half  miles  in  a straight  line  almost  due  west  of  Pikeville, 
this  bed  has  been  opened  on  land  of  the  Sequatchie  Valley  Coal  & Coke 
Company  (map  No.  40).  Here  it  is  about  one  foot  six  inches  thick,  as 
shown  in  section  2,  figure  11.  The  coal  in  this  locality  is  a block  coal  with 
sandstone  above  and  clay  below.  It  is  mined  by  Mr.  McFarland  and 
hauled  to  Pikeville  and  sold  for  domestic  use.  Between  Lee  Station  and 
Gardiner  Cove,  on  the  west  side  of  Little  Mountain,  off  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  area,  this  bed  is  reported  to  be  thicker  than  on  this  quadran- 
gle. At  Frank  Campbell’s  bank  it  is  said  to  range  from  three  to  four  feet 
in  thickness  and  to  be  a block  coal. 

The  position  of  the  theoretical  outcrop  of  this  coal  is  indicated  on  the 
map,  PI.  I,  but  the  coal  itself  is  very  rarely  seen,  though  along  the  roads 
the  beds  below  the  big  sandstone  are  usually  well  exposed.  It  is  more 
than  probable,  therefore,  that  within  this  area  the  coal  bed  underneath 
this  upper  cliff-making  conglomeratic  sandstone  is  thin  or  not  present  at 
all.  Four  miles  north  of  Litton,  off  the  north  edge  of  the  quadrangle, 
the  bed  has  been  opened  on  land  of  J.  H.  Hale  & Son,  where,  according 
to  Mr.  H.  G.  Hart,  it  is  three  and  one-half  feet  thick.  The  coal  has  a clay 
roof  and  is  also  underlain  by  clay,  below  which  is  sandstone.  The  varia- 
bility in  the  Morgan  Springs  bed  illustrates  the  importance  of  careful 
prospecting  before  attempting  its  commercial  development. 

Chemical  Character — The  Morgan  Springs  coal  from  two  mines  on 
Cumberland  Plateau  has  been  analyzed  with  the  results  indicated  in  Nos. 
10731  and  10802,  on  page  129.  The  moisture  in  the  sample  (No.  10731), 
collected  from  the  coal  mine  of  Mr.  J.  W.  McFarland  (figure  11,  section 
1),  four  miles  west  of  Pikeville,  namely  2.17  per  cent,  may  be  regarded 
as  more  representative  than  the  moisture  content  in  the  sample  collected 
at  the  Hale  opening  (figure  11,  section  3),  four  miles  north  of  Litton. 
As  to  volatile  matter  and  fixed  carbon,  these  samples  are  comparable  with 
the  other  coals  in  this  general  region.  The  amount  of  ash  in  the  Morgan 
Springs  coal  is  slightly  greater  than  in  most  of  the  other  samples  collect- 
ed in  this  area,  excepting  those  from  the  coal  beds  worked  in  the  vicinity 
of  Dayton.  The  percentage  of  sulphur  in  the  coal  is  greater  than  in  any 
of  the  other  coals  examined  in  the  quadrangle. 


LIST  OF  PUBLICATIONS. 


69 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  SURVEY  ISSUED. 

The  following  publications  have  been  issued  by  the  present  Survey, 
and  will  be  sent  on  request  when  accompanied  by  the  necessary  postage. 

To  make  it  possible  for'  libraries  to  complete  their  sets,  and  for  persons 
having  real  need  for  any  of  the  volumes  to  obtain  the  earlier  ones  at 
small  cost,  500  copies  of  each  report  are  reserved  for  sale,  at  the  cost  of 
printing;  the  receipts  from  the  sales  being  turned  into  the  State  Treasury. 
Gaps  in  the  series  of  numbers  are  of  reports  still  in  preparation : 


Bulletin  No.  1 — Geological  Work  in  Tennessee. 

A.  The  establishment,  purpose,  object  and  methods  of  the 
State  Geological  Survey;  by  George  H.  Ashley,  33  pages, 
issued  July,  1910;  postage,  2 cents. 

B.  Bibliography  of  Tennessee  Geology  and  Related  Sub- 
jects; by  Elizabeth  Cockrill,  119  pages;  postage,  3 cents. 

Bulletin  No.  2 — Preliminary  Papers  on  the  Mineral  Resources  of  Tennes- 
see, by  George  H.  Ashley  and  others. 

A.  Outline  Introduction  to  the  Mineral  Resources  of  Ten- 
nessee, by  George  H.  Ashley,  issued  September  10,  1910; 
65  pages;  postage,  2 cents. 

D.  The  Marble  of  East  Tennessee,  by  C.  H.  Gordon;  issued 
May,  1911;  33  pages;  postage,  2 cents. 

E.  Oil  Development  in  Tennessee,  by  M.  J.  Munn,  issued 
January,  1911;  46  pages;  postage,  2 cents. 

G.  The  Zinc  Deposits  of  Tennessee,  by  S.  W.  Osgood;  issued 
October,  1910;  16  pages;  postage,  1 cent. 

Bulletin  No.  3 — Drainage  Reclamation  in  Tennessee;  74  pages,  issued  July, 
1910;  postage,  3 cents. 

A.  Drainage  Problems  in  Tennessee,  by  George  H.  Ashley; 
pages  1-15;  postage,  1 cent. 

B.  Drainage  of  Rivers  in  Gibson  County,  Tennessee,  by  A. 
E.  Morgan  and  S.  H.  McCrory;  pages  17-43;  postage, 
1 cent. 

C.  The  Drainage  Law  of  Tennessee;  pages  45-74;  postage, 
1 cent. 

Bulletin  No.  A — Administrative  Report  of  the  State  Geologist,  1910;  issued 
March,  1911;  postage,  2 cents. 

Bulletin  No.  5 — Clays  of  West  Tennessee,  by  Wilbur  A.  Nelson;  issued 
April,  1911;  postage,  4 cents. 

Bulletin  No.  9 — Economic  Geology  of  the  Dayton-Pikeville  Region,  by  W. 

C.  Phalen,  for  sale  only,  price  15  cents. 

Bulletin  No.  10 — Studies  of  the  Forests  of  Tennessee. 

A.  An  Investigation  of  the  Forest  Conditions  in  Tennessee, 
by  R.  Clifford  Hall;  issued  April,  1911;  56  pages;  post- 
age, 3 cents. 

Bulletin  No.  13 — A Brief  Summary  of  the  Resources  of  Tennessee,  by  Geo. 

H.  Ashley;  issued  May,  1911;  40  pages;  postage,  2 cents. 

“The  Resources  of  Tennessee” — A monthly  magazine,  devoted  to  the  de- 
scription, conservation  and  development  of  the  State’s 
sources.  Already  issued,  Vol.  1 to  4.  Sent  upon  request. 


7o 


INDEX 


Page 

Age  of  coal-bearing  rocks 9 

Alabama  41 

Allegheny  formation  9 

Analyses  of  coals  34,  39,  43 

Anderson  County  8 

Anderson  sandstone  14,  15,  16 

Angel  coal  30,  60 

Ansted  coal  39,  40 

Appalachian  Valley  19 

Ashley,  Geo.  H 8,  13,  15 

Banger  limestone  29 

Battle  Creek  coal  group 11 

Bee  Creek  27 

Bell  County,  Ky 39,  40 

Bennett  Fork  coal  15,  16 

Big  Mary  coal  17,  18 

Big  Spring  Gap  coal  27,  63 

Big  Stone  Gap  13 

Blackburn,  Mark  59,  60 

Bledsoe  County  8,  23 

Block  coals  17,  18 

Blue  Gem  coal  16 

Bon  Air  coals  11,  12,  18 

Bon  Air  sandstone 11,  14,  21,  29 

Breaks-o’-Sandy  20 

Briceville  area  14,  16,  18,  20 

Briceville  shale  14,  16 

Bridgeport,  Ala 24 

Brown’s  Gap  63 

Brushy  Mountain  17,  21 

Bryson  formation  16 

Bryson  Mountain  16,  17,  22 

Burchard,  G.  H 45,  46 

Butts,  Chas 11,  23 


Campbell  County  8,  43,  44 

Campbell,  M.  R 11,  13,  28,  30,  38 

Cane  Creek  27,  36,  65,  66 

Caney  Fork  12,  65 

Caryville  20 

Chattanooga  19 

Chattanooga  folio  11,  28 

Chemistry  and  uses  of  coal 33 

Claiborne  County  8,  16,  43 

Cleage,  David  A.,  heirs 62,  64 


Cliff  making  sandstones 

“Cliff”  sandstone  

Clifty  

Coal  bearing  formations 


Coal  Creek  17,  18,  20 

Coal  Creek  coal  16 

Coalmont  44 

Coals,  analyses  of  34,  39,  43 

Coals,  description  of  45,  et  seq. 


Coals  of  Tennessee  field 21 

Coals  of  the  quadrangle  33 

Coffee  County  8 

Columnar  sections. ..  12,  13,  17,  26,  27 

Colton  13 

Comparison  with  coals  with  other 
States  38 


Page 

Comparison  with  other  Tennessee 

coals  42 

Conemaugh  formation 9 

Contents  5 

Coosa  field  10 

Crab  Orchard  Mountain  19 

Craig  Mine  36 

Cranmore  Cove  24,  45,  50,  58 

Cumberland  County  8,  23,  44 

Cumberland  Gap  13,  20,  22 

Cumberland  Plateau 8,  23,  24,  27, 

32,  37,  41,  46,  50,  58,  64,  66. 

Mountain  15,  21,  22 


Dade  coal  group  11 

Dayton 13,  19,  20,  23,  24,  26,  29,  30, 

34,  45,  49,  51,  52,  54,  57,  68. 

Dayton  Coal  & Iron  Co.  .24,  35,  38,  47, 
50,  52. 

Dean  coals  16 


Emory  River  Gap 19 

Etna  sandstone  11 

Exposure  of  coal  31 


Fentress  County  8,  44 

Fern  Lake  22 

Fieldner,  A.  C 34 

Fork  Mountain  fault  20 

Fork  Ridge  43 

Fork  Ridge  sandstone  15,  16 

Fox  Coal  Co 51,  52 

Fraley  Gap  56 

Franklin  County  8 

Frazier,  Sam  57 

Freeport  coals  9,  39 

Gardiner  Cove  68 

Gatliff  43,  44 

General  geology  of  quadrangle 25 

Geology  of  Cumberland  Plateau...  58 

Glade  Creek  27,  65 

Glenn,  L.  C 15,  18 

Goodrich  coal  ..26,  46 

Googee  Creek  26,  47,  48,  51 

Graysville  13,  50,  51 

Grundy  County  8,  44 


Hale,  J.  H.,  & Son.  .36,  37,  63,  65,  67,  68 

Hance  formation  15,16 

Hamilton  County  8 

Harriman  18 

Hart,  H.  G 23,  63,  67,  68 

Hayes,  C.  W 12,  13,  18,  25,  28,  29 

Henderson,  Bird  57 

Henderson’s  Mill  57 

Herbert  Domain  18,  36,  65,  66 

Hignite  coals  16,  17,  18 


Introductory  statement,  G.  H.  Ash- 
ley   


INDEX 


71 


Page 

Introductory  statement,  W.  C.  Phe- 


lan   23 

Jackson  coal  62 

Jellico  16,  17 

Jellico  coal  16-18 

Keith,  Arthur  14 

Kelly  coal  18 

Kentucky  41 

Kerley,  Will  57 

Killebrew  28,  29 

Kingston  folio  11,  28,  30 

Kittanning  coals  9 

Lafollette  16,  17 

Lantana  coal  18 

Lee  formation  (“sandstone”) ...  10,  11, 
16-18. 

“Lee  shale”  coal  group 11,  20 

Lee  Station  68 

Letter  of  transmittal  7 

Lick  Branch  57 

List  of  Illustrations  6 

Little  Mountain  68 

Litton 36,  63,  65,  67,  68 

Local  geology  of  coals 45 

Location  of  area  of  Pikeville  quad- 
rangle   23 

Log  mountains  15,  16,  18 

Lookout  formation  (“sand'stone”) 

10,  11,  14,  18,  21,  28,  29,  32,  46,  55,  59, 
60. 

Lookout  Mountain  10,  14 

Lower  Carboniferous  .....9,  14 

Lower  Falls  48,  51 

Low  Gap  56,  57 

Map  of  Tennessee  coal  field 

Frontispiece 

Marion  County  8,  11,  44,  45 

McFarland,  J.  W 37,  67,  68 

McGuire  coal  18 

Meadow  Creek  36,  65,  66 

Melvine  36,  63 

Mercer  coal  10 

Method  of  sampling  33 

Middlesboro  area  15,  16,  18,  21 

Miers,  John  C 62-64 

Mingo  formation  15,  16 

Mingo  Mountain  15 

Mining  condition  57 

Mississippian  9,  28 

Moccasin  Creek 57 

Monongahela  formation  9 

Morgan  County  8,  44 

Morgan  Creek  24,  52 

Morgan,  S.  W 53 

Morgan  Springs  47,  53 

Morgan  Springs  coal....  18,  26,  27,  28, 
30,  31,  33,  35,  37,  38,  44,  52,  53,  57,  67, 
68. 

Morgantown  24,  57 


Page 

Nashville,  Chattanooga  & St.  Louis 

Railway  24 

Nelson  coal 19,  26,  34,  35-38,  41,  42, 

44,  47-50,  52. 

Nelson,  J.  C 48 

Nelson,  Wilbur  23 

Newcomb  16,  17 

New  Prospect  mine 35,  36,  48-50 

North  Pole  mine ...36,  51,  52 


Oakhill  coal  18 

Ohio  41 

Oliver  Springs  44 

Orme  44,  45 

Overton  County 8 

Pennington  formation 26-29,  45, 

46,  48,  54,  58-60. 

Pennsylvania  40,  42 

Pennsylvanian 9,  10,  28,  46,  58 

Penitentiary  Gulch  56,  62,  63,  64 

Petros  44 

Phalen,  Wm.  C 11-13,  18,  22,  23,  et. 

seq. 

Pickett  County  8 

Pikeville  folio  11,  29 

Pikeville,  near 12,  21,  22,  24,  28-30, 

46,  55,  60-64,  67,  68. 

Pine  Mountain  15,  21 

Pineville  Gap  20 

Pioneer  20 

Pittsburg  coal  9,  39 

Pitts  Gap  road  26,  56 

Pope,  W.  R 60,  61 

Pope,  L.  S 37,  54,  55 

Poplar  Lick  coal  15-18 

Porch  Rock  26,  55 

Pottsville 9,  10,  28,  31,  46 

Powellton  coal  39,  40 

Preliminary  report  23 

Putnam  County  22 


Quakertown  coal  10 

Queen  & Crescent  R.  R.  .14,  21,  22,  24 


Red  Spring  coal 16-18 

Rex  coal  16 

Rhea  County  8,  23,  24 

Richland  coal...  18,  26,  29,  32-34,  36-38, 
41,  44,  45,  50-52,  56,  57,  62,  65. 

Richland  Creek  24,  26,  47,  51 

Rich  Mountain  coal  16 

Roane  County  8,  44 

Roaring  (Montague)  Creek. . 26,  51,  52 

Rockcastle  River,  Ky 11 

Rockcastle  sandstone. ..  .11,  14,  18,  20, 
27,  30. 

Rockwood  13,  14,  20,  30 

Rockwood  coal  18 


Safford,  J.  M 11,  12,  14,  28-30,  62 

Sampling,  methods  of 33 


72 


INDEX 


Page 

Sandstone  parting  coal 16 

Saratoga  Springs  65 

Scott  County  8,  15,  17 

Scott  shale  14-16 

Sections.  . .12,  13,  17,  26,  27,  49,  62,  64 

Sequatchie  County  8 

Sequatchie  Valley.... 9,  18,  21,  23,  24, 

29,  37,  42,  46,  54,  59. 


Sequatchie  Valley  Coal  & Coke  Co., 

36,  62,  63,  64,  67,  68. 

Sewanee  coals...  11,  18,  27,  30,  32,  34, 
36,  37,  41,  42,  44,  45,  61-67. 

Sewanee  folio  11,  28 

Sewanee  sandstone 11,  14,  18,  21, 

26,  27. 


Sharon  coal  

10 

Skellin  Cove  

26 

Smith,  Geo.  Otis . . 

3,7 

Soddy  

..13,  18,  30,  51,  62 

South  Pittsburg  . . 

12 

Standard  coal  . . . . 

18 

Standingstone  quadrangle  12,  28 

State  Geological  Commission 4 

State  lands  

36 

Stewart  property  . 

47 

Stratigraphy  

10 

Structure  

19,  30 

Swofford,  I.  N 

37,  54-56 

Page 

Table  of  coal  bearing  formation...  28 


Tanbark,  P.  0 57 

Tennessee  Central  R.  R . . . 14 

Thurman,  Isaac  E.,  heirs 36,  63,  64 

Tiptop  61-64 

Togland’s,  Jonn  27 

Tracy  City  12,  18 

Turner’s,  I.  W 59,  60 

Union  County,  Ky 39,  40 

U.  S.  Bureau  of  Mines 33,  34 

U.  S.  Geological  Survey.... 3,  7,  23,  25 

Upper  Falls  mine 51 

Van  Buren  County  8 

Vaughn’s 36,  37,  54,  55,  65,  66 

Victoria  mines  12 

Waldensia  44 


Walden  formation  (“sandstone”) 

10,  18,  28,  -29,  51,  61. 

Walden  Ridge.. 9,  14,  20,  23,  24,  28-32, 
45,  46,  50,  52,  55-58. 

Walker  coal  18 

Warren  County  8 

Wartburg  area  14,  21 

Wartburg  sandstone  14  16 

West  Virginia  40,  41 

White  County  8,  44 

White,  David  11,  13,  16,  38,  59 


